Author Archives: jeff

Thanks Michael Pollan, for telling MN Public Radio that you can live on bread alone…

Print Print | Email Email | by jeff, April 29, 2013
Filed Under press, TV/Radio/News | 4 comments

Michael Pollan on MPR

… at least if it’s got some whole grain.  Michael Pollan was on MPR May 2, 2013, with Kerri Miller.  Charming guy, you can listen To the interview: click here.  He was in town to promote his new book Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation.

To our ever-lasting joy, he really focused on bread; that’s where the conversation started.  Long-fermented (like ours), and home-baked. Lots of whole-grain loaves are in Healthy Bread In Five Minutes a Day, most of our white-based breads are in Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day (which Amazon is heavily discounting at the moment). Michael, by the way, talked about the value of a little white bread now and then.  Everything in moderation, including moderation!

Four Leaf Clover Buns

Green Four-Leaf Clover Broccoli & Cheddar Buns for St. Patrick’s Day

Print Print | Email Email | by jeff, March 13, 2013
Filed Under HBin5, holiday breads | 28 comments

They say that everyone’s Irish on St. Patrick’s Day, and I hope that’s true, because I love the Irish–for their music, their literature, their Guinness Stout, and believe it or not, for their food.  It’s been many years since I was in Ireland, but I remember swooning over the fresh, wild salmon, buttered potatoes (of course), and the moist and flavorful brown bread.  But brown bread’s not particularly festive (or green!), and Zoe and I don’t have a recipe for classic Irish soda bread, which is made without yeast (for that, I rely on James Beard’s recipe in Beard on Bread– the first bread I ever made).  Then Zoe reminded me about our broccoli-and-cheddar buns in Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day.  Turns out that four-leaf clovers aren’t especially Irish, but they’re very lucky!  Sprinkled with cheese, these make a lovely accompaniment to corned beef and cabbage.  One little disclosure– the broccoli doesn’t make it all that deeply green, as you can see.  Some would have used green food coloring, I suppose.  Bain taitneamh as do bhéil!  Hearty appetite (I think)… Continue reading →

TV spot on Pittsburgh’s CBS affiliate, making “Pain du Football” for Super Bowl Sunday (and eating raw bread dough with host Jon Burnett!)

Print Print | Email Email | by jeff, January 27, 2013
Filed Under TV/Radio/News | 13 comments

 

on-kdka-pittsburgh.jpgIn 2009 I was in Pittsburgh just before SuperBowl (go Steelers!) and mixed up a batch of Master Recipe dough with host Jon Burnett on KDKA-TV Channel 2 (the CBS affiliate).  Pittsburgh was awash in Steelers mania, and I couldn’t resist cutting a loaf of Pain d’Epi (wheat stalk bread) but calling it Pain du Football (page 41 in our book).  I’m bringing this bread to a Super Bowl party because each individual roll is shaped like a football– well, something like a football.  Perfect for dipping into chili in front of the game.  Jon was disappointed that my baked bread was a bit stale (I’d had to bake it in Minneapolis and it was two days stale!) so he insisted on eating the RAW bread dough instead (he made me eat it too).  Click here or on the video screen above to view the TV segment, this was great fun.

Have a look at Zoe’s post on Pain d’Epi (wheat stalk bread) for some nice shots of the cutting technique.  Remember to cut at a very shallow angle with long-bladed shears, almost all the way through the baguette you form.

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How & When to Swap Bread Flour for All-Purpose: Testing w/Gold Medal “Better for Bread,” and Announcing a Winner of the Books

Print Print | Email Email | by jeff, December 10, 2012
Filed Under Special techniques | 47 comments

People often ask us why we only used all-purpose flour (where we called for white flour) in Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day.  Why not “bread” flour, which is higher in protein and is often considered traditional in bread?  Well, not in all traditions!  French baguettes, for example, are typically made with lower-protein flour for a more tender, and less chewy crumb.  And we knew most of our potential book-users already had all-purpose flour in the house.  But sometimes, a stiffer dough is desirable, like when something really needs to hold its shape, like these wreath-shaped, well… bagels.  You can always swap bread flour into our recipes that call for all-purpose, just by adding a little extra water (details below).  And we’ll announce our contest winner at the end of this post… Continue reading →

The Refrigerator Rise Trick on Crazy-Busy Thanksgiving Morning: Fresh Rolls (Kürbiskernbrot) from the German Alps

Print Print | Email Email | by jeff, November 19, 2012
Filed Under holiday breads, Recipes, Special techniques | 60 comments

Some people shy away from yeast breads and rolls at busy holidays because they think the proofing step (the rest after the loaves or rolls are shaped) is too time-consuming, even with our stored dough.  Here’s a great way to get around that–form rolls or loaves the night before, refrigerate overnight and they’re ready for the oven in the morning. Continue reading →

Our New Book: Shhhhhhh!

Print Print | Email Email | by jeff, September 17, 2012
Filed Under events | 50 comments

We are excited to announce that we are working on a new project, but sadly, most the details have to end there–our publisher will kill us if we say much about our new book, which should be out in the next 15 months or so. We can tell you that we spent a long, but fun week in Minneapolis with photographer Stephen Scott Gross, and that we worked very hard baking and cooking all kinds of deliciousness. Continue reading →

Mini-Doughnuts for the State Fair!

Print Print | Email Email | by jeff, August 15, 2012
Filed Under Sweets | 23 comments

We decided to miniaturize a recipe, just in time for the State Fair. Here in Minnesota we are crazy about our Fair, and we celebrate with much eating: mostly fried foods, of course, and anything on a stick. So today we bring you mini-doughnuts, a delicious treat made easy with our dough. This particular version is made with our whole wheat brioche, which takes away a little bit of the guilt. (It could also be made with whole wheat brioche with stevia, easing your conscience even more.) The doughnuts are coated in sugar while they’re still warm, and then devoured immediately. Continue reading →

Flatbread Sandwiches: Cool Kitchen, Hot Summer Meal

Print Print | Email Email | by jeff, July 18, 2012
Filed Under flatbreads | 43 comments

Here in Minneapolis we have been having a heat wave, and while grilling out can be a great way to keep the kitchen cool, some days it’s just too hot to even do that. So we came up with a quick and easy meal to help beat the heat, a dinner that just requires some stove top time and easy prep.

Continue reading →