Friends, hello. This hot cross bun recipe has lived on my site for years and as with many of my bread recipes, it has been tweaked numerous times. When I made the buns last year, I remember thinking they were a little too sweet and dense, and while my family still devoured them, I couldn't help but tweak them one last time. In sum: I've reduced the sugar from 1/2 cup to 1/3 cup (gram measurements, of course, are included). I've added the zest of one clementine (or orange) and then,...
2 days ago • 1 min read
Friends, hello. A few weeks ago, I revisited Jim Lahey's N0-Knead Bread Recipe. It was the 5th recipe I ever blogged about it, and in the nearly 20 years of making it, I hadn't strayed from the original recipe. But something I've been doing with nearly all of my bread and pizza dough recipes since writing Pizza Night is this: 30 to 60 minutes after mixing the dough (a period that allows the gluten to relax and the flour to fully hydrate), I perform one set of stretches and folds. It doesn't...
8 days ago • 2 min read
Nearly 20 years ago, I had my first taste of really good corn tortillas. I was in San Francisco for a wedding, and after a morning a run — those were the days! — Ben and I stumbled upon the Ferry Building Farmers Market and specifically the Primavera stand, where a very long line suggested maybe we should hop in it. We did, and about 30 minutes later, we were eating the best chilaquiles — maybe the best meal — of our lives. To this day, I cannot visit San Francisco (if I'm there on a Saturday...
15 days ago • 2 min read
Friends, hello! This week I spotted champagne mangoes at the market, and I couldn't resist buying them. I have been on a corn tortilla-making kick and having fresh salsa to pair with our tacos sounded so nice. Friends, it was! I haven't made this recipe in ages, and it was such a treat to have on hand — so bright, so refreshing, such a welcomed contrast to the food and flavors we've been subsisting on all winter long. My children gobbled it up... And I enjoyed leftovers on my breakfast tacos,...
22 days ago • 1 min read
Friends, hello! A week ago, I shared this sandwich bread recipe, and the most frequently asked question I've received since is: Could I make the loaf using whole wheat flour? I respond as I always do: Yes, you can, but keep in mind two things: 1.) the more whole wheat flour you use, the less lofty your loaf will be. 2.) Depending on the flour you are using, your bread might not necessarily be more nutritious. Why? It has to do with the milling. Most commercial flour on the market is made from...
29 days ago • 2 min read
Friends, hello. Last week I mentioned I had been working on a soft sandwich bread recipe and hoped to be able to share it soon... here it is! It's a no-knead, 6-ingredient recipe that takes about 5 minutes to stir together. Thanks especially to my oldest daughter, who brings a turkey sandwich to school for lunch nearly every day and who has no reservations sharing her opinions, the recipe has gone through many iterations these past few months. It started with the basic bread ingredients:...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Friends, hello. I was hoping to have something more exciting to share with you this weekend, namely a recipe for a very simple soft sandwich bread, which I've been making in various ways — sometimes with honey, sometimes with olive oil, sometimes with more or less water and different flours, etc. — since this past summer. The recipe is almost there... ... and I will share it as soon as it is. I have a simple sourdough sandwich bread recipe on the blog, and I've long wanted to include a...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Friends, hello, how are you? Tired of winter? Same. Tired of roasted vegetables? Same. Tired of being cold? Same. Alas. This time of the year has to arrive at some point, and it seems to be now. This week, after mistakenly buying blood oranges at the market, I made a vinaigrette, which immediately inspired me to make a favorite, classic salad — beets with goat cheese and walnuts — which takes so nicely to a citrusy dressing. I used golden beets, which looked better than the red ones on that...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
Hello, Friends. About this time last year, I went on a quest to make shiny-topped brownies. Many of you offered your tips and tricks, all of which I shared in the post, but in sum I learned that the mixing method really matters as does the material of the pan. These various experiments also led me down a rabbit hole regarding lead levels in various cocoa powders, which led many of you to share your favorite brands. Here are a few you shared: Cacao Barry Extra Brute Navitas Viva Naturals...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read