Author: jeff

Zucchini Flatbread with Roasted Tomato and Pine Nuts for the Minneapolis Bread Festival

jeff 26 Comments

Sometimes you just don’t know when to leave well enough alone.  This savory flatbread was in Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day (2009), and I was making it tonight as a side dish for a simple baked Coho Salmon with dill.  I’m back on a pizza and flatbread kick again, since our new pizza and flatbread book is coming out in 28 days:

I wanted something to brighten up the flavor and color of all those soft lovely green things—roasted cherry tomatoes did the trick.  The tangy acidity was perfect for cutting the softer flavors of the zucchini, parsley, cheese, and nuts.  The tomatoes weren’t in the original recipe, and neither version has ever appeared on our website before, so here goes.  Plus, I’m going to be doing a demo this Saturday, October 1 at 10:15 am at the Minneapolis Bread Festival, and they’re asking for something like this.  Hope to see you at the festival, but if you can’t make it, give this a try here.  Our pizza book is available for pre-order on Amazon and will ship October 25. Read More

Wild Rice Pilaf Bread

jeff 21 Comments

You know it’s fall in the Midwest when your kids are back in school, the thermometer says 45 degrees, and the morning is back to the old scramble.  My wife and I planned to tag-team as usual but it turns out that our kids are old enough now—so independent that they really don’t need much help in the morning.

So it was a relief, though a bit bittersweet, to find myself with some time to relax with a cup of coffee this morning,  and think about this post.  I did my fall baking class at Chef’s Gallery (in historic Stillwater Minn.) at the end of August and baked up Wild Rice Pilaf Bread from The New Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day—and it was a hit.  I was putting the loaf together this morning, and realized we’d used up our mushrooms, but had plenty of pecans.  It works!  The sauteed vegetables infuse the loaf with flavor and moisture—and the nuts add crunch and richness (not to mention great nutrition).  Read on for the recipe and tips—you can do this variation by using the roll-in technique, which allows you to start with pretty much any of our doughs that you’ve already refrigerated and add in the wild rice, onion, and mushrooms (or nuts) just before you shape the loaf. Read More

Monkey Bread – Brioche dipped in cinnamon sugar and caramel!

jeff 91 Comments

I have to admit that I have never made Monkey Bread before. My brother’s used to make it when they were younger, but I’d already left the house for college. My husband has even made it for my boys, but always when I am out of town, a father/son tradition. In both cases it was made with a dough or biscuits that come in a pop-open-tube from the grocery store. You know just what I am talking about. This is perhaps why my husband only made them when I wasn’t around. Trust me, I love anything made with cinnamon sugar and caramel, so the concept appeals to me. When I found myself with a bucket of brioche and wanting to make the boys a treat, I thought Monkey Bread. Now I wonder how come it took me so long to figure this out? It is simple, fun and absolutely delicious. Only make them when you have people to share them with, or you will find yourself nibbling at them all day like I did. Luckily, my boys and their friends came home and saved me from eating the entire pan. Read More

(Thinking about trying to re-create) gorgeous pastries from France, plus, an even better way to do Dutch oven bread on the grill

jeff 23 Comments

The pastry above is layered with chocolate pastry cream, flan, and on top, a very whimsical patisserie (pastry shop) in the Marais district in Paris has placed jelly beans, candy blackberries, and a little pile of minced pistachio.  For some reason, I seem to find the need to put a baguette in every picture.

My family and I’ve been home from France for a month but I’m still not exactly “home.”

More photos if you click below; plus new tips on getting a perfect Dutch oven bread on the outdoor gas grill (I’m going to keep refining this).  I’d planned on trying to re-create this pastry—-baking up brioche (on page 300 of the book) , slicing it thinly, and layering it with pastry cream (recipe for the cream on page 348 of the book. But as I said, I always seem to end up with bread… Read More

New Video: Barbecued Baguette on the Gas Grill for the Dog Days of Summer

jeff 28 Comments

OK, first the disclaimer, I did not bake the breads above.  I photographed them in Dinan, France, where I bought and ate them with my family.  I also need to admit that it looks like I bit the perfect tip off the baguette on the right (I did, on my walk back from the boulangerie–bakery).  I’m just back, so I have baguettes on my mind; hence the little video of me baking a baguette outside on the gas grill just in time for a crazy heat wave near you:  Click on “Read More” below for details.

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Red, White and Blue Brioche Tartlettes for the 4th of July!

jeff 61 Comments

4th-tartlettes07

With the 4th of July coming up I’ve been on a quest to create perfect picnic treats. Small and tasty fits that bill. Earlier this week I made Bakewell tarts on ZoeBakes and realized that it would be such an easy dessert to recreate using brioche dough, something I always have on hand.  The tarts are made with a brioche crust, a spoon of jam, a layer of frangipane (almond cream) and topped with fresh fruit. I used cherries and blueberries to create red, white and blue tarts. Read More

Grilled Buns on Father’s Day

jeff 40 Comments

Father’s Day is the day where everything good in life happens on the grill. While you are making burgers, kebabs or brats, you can also slide your Dutch oven in next to them and bake up some fresh buns. I made these with the olive oil dough from Artisan Bread in 5, but you can use any of the doughs from our books. The only adjustments you may need to make is the temperature in which you cook them. The key to successful grill baking is knowing your grill and how it heats up. The best way I have found is to use the built in thermometer, but if your grill doesn’t have one, you will just have to keep a close eye on the buns, as you flip those burgers, and they will come out just great! Read More

New Video: Grilled pizza!

jeff 13 Comments

I promised a video to go with last month’s recipe for this fantastic mushroom and potato pizza from Provence (Rustic Wild Mushroom and Potato Pizza), a recipe from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day.  I did it outside, on the grill with a stone, so here it is.  A few things:

  1. Grill temp: Though some of the stones say to crank the gas grill as high as it can go, we’ve found that pizza done this way scorches on the bottom before the toppings are hot.  I used about 500 degrees F by by grill’s thermometer (250 C).  Today I used the Emile Henry Flame Top Pizza Stone, which worked beautifully (give it a 20 to 30 minute pre-heat)
  2. Baking without a stone: That works too; follow the directions here if you want to go for a crisper, smokier effect.  We’ll have much more on that in our upcoming pizza book (pre-order on Amazon).