For an easy bread recipe that allowed us to put our Sourdough Starter into action, we developed a sourdough version of our Almost No-Knead Bread, which we let rise overnight to develop flavor and then baked in a Dutch oven to produce a well-risen loaf with a crisp, crackly crust. We prefer King Arthur all-purpose flour in this recipe; if you can’t find it, you can substitute any brand of bread flour. For the best results, weigh your ingredients. The dough can rise at room temperature in step 3 (instead of in the oven), but it will take 3 to 4 hours. Do not wait until the oven has preheated in step 4 to start timing 30 minutes or the bread will burn. [Ed note: For more advice on sourdough starters, please follow this link for an audio segment with Bridget Lancaster of America's Test Kitchen and a sourdough starter recipe courtesy of Cook's Illustrated. You can also try this recipe for Classic Sourdough Bread (Pain au Levain).]
Baking with olive oil has been a way of life for Mediterranean cooks, and is gaining steam in America. In California, where olive oil is produced and citrus grown, this cake is as common as a yellow birthday cake with chocolate frosting.
Ingredients
Once fully cooled, Springerle must be stored in airtight containers, where they will keep for months. Do not eat them right away; they need time to develop their flavor and, more important, their texture. When they are freshly made, in the first few weeks or so, they will be crunchy on the outside but, when pressed, their crust will shatter slightly, giving way to a soft interior. As time goes on, they will get harder and harder, eventually getting so hard that you’ll be able to eat them only after dunking them in hot tea. I prefer Springerle when they get this hard, but others prefer to keep them soft. To do so, store the cookies with a piece of bread or a chunk of apple, which will supply them with moisture and keep them soft (replace the bread or apple every few days) .
A vegetable tart with robust-tasting filling featuring the classic combination of meaty mushrooms and sweet leeks partially wrapped in a hearty pastry.
Pineapple Buns are a go-to pastry in Chinatown markets and restaurants throughout the U.S. Thanks to a sugary backed topping, they are both fluffy and crunchy. And there's no limit to the fillings - sweet or savory - that you can add to them.
Ingredients
This recipe comes from Miss Lily’s, a Jamaican-themed restaurant in New York City.
A happy culinary accident, hard pretzels are one of America's first salty, crunchy snack foods.
One of the things we added to this new edition of our first book is the ability to increase the whole grains in the basic loaf, so here's a rustic round loaf that's nearly half whole wheat. Dip it in rustic soup and throw together for a fantastic weeknight meal.