French Bread

Loaf of freshly baked French bread

When a wonderful reader (also known as my awesome cousin:) emailed me asking for a good homemade French bread recipe, I knew Peter Reinhart was where I had to turn.  I have made dozens of breads from his books and they rarely fail me.  This bread is so good that my husband and I ate an entire loaf one night … Read More

Whole Wheat Challah

Loaf of Whole Wheat Challah

Snowy cold weather and super short days are perfect reasons to jump headfirst back into baking bread on a regular basis.  When the weather is nice and the sun is up until 9 p.m. it is often hard for me to hang around home long enough to get some bread baked.  But now, at 5 p.m., when it is dark … Read More

Soft Italian Bread and Walnut Pesto

soft Italian bread with walnut pesto

Oh my good grief, this pesto is good.  I made it for the first time last year and this year I planted six basil plants to ensure that I would have enough basil to make this stuff by the bucketful.  It is great on pasta and really good slathered on some soft homemade bread.  Rumor has it that pesto can … Read More