First of the Foundation Series Want to bake your first loaf of bread? Make this soda bread just before supper for a toasty accompaniment that features a soft, chewy crumb and crunchy crust. Bake a loaf in under an hour with a bowl, measuring spoons and cups, and a baking sheet or pie pan. No...

The Beauty of Maple Syrup Tarts Whether arranged artistically on a special tray for brunch or grabbed as a late-night treat with a glass of cold milk, Maple Syrup Butter Tarts are irresistibly yummy. Perfect as an easy-to-pick-up dessert in a buffet line or an accoutrement to a hot beverage at tea time, these tarts...

This is a recipe I developed yesterday with Pam Beach. This was an interesting example of taking my potato bread recipe and integrating sourdough starter. This is not as complicated as it sounds. If you look at my sourdough starter directions, I use a 100% hydration formula meaning the starter is equal weight of flour of...

This week I am playing with two dried ingredients: potatoes and tomatoes, as in Instant Mashed Potatoes and Sundried Tomatoes. While many will turn up their nose at potato flakes, I love them for baking. They are convenient, low-cost, easy to use and have a long shelf life. Sundried tomatoes come in two form: dry...

    Once you make dinner roll dough and ferment it, you have many choices in how to make your rolls. You can divide and put the dough balls in a muffin tin. I also like to then cover in a cinnamon sugar to make a sweeter variation. I love this recipe as it is easy...

The First Sourdough Recipe used a combination of the wild yeast in the sourdough starter and some commercial yeast. This recipe is good for when your starter is not mature yet. The sourdough is acting mainly as a poolish or pre-ferment to give more taste and flavour to the loaf. Now my starter, Fido, is getting very...

  So far on my adventures into making sourdough bread: Fido – Our Sourdough Starter How to Make Sourdough Starter My starter, Fido pronounced Fi-Dough, has been growing for a week now so it was time to make my first loaf. Sourdough bread comes in two varieties depending on the source of the leavening agent...

1 or 2 quart (litre) jar Digital scale 1 cup (125g) flour Whole grain for initial load All purpose for all feedings 1/2 cup (125g) non-chlorinated water Now there are no hard rules on what flours to use or how much. I chose 125g flour (about 1 cup) and 125g water (about 1/2 cup) as...

Our latest addition to the family is Fido, pronounced Fi-Dough. Hint, hint. Fido is not a dog. Fido is my new sourdough starter. One of my favourite websites, King Arthur Flour, had an excellent article on setting a new years resolution of starting your own sourdough starter. This is a resolution I could get into...

My First Challah is a great first bread to make. One, it is not complicated and two, it looks amazing. Fleischmann’s Bread World – Easy Challah was one of the very first bread recipes I made. Using a 9×5 loaf pan is easier than braiding the dough and once you make a loaf you can always do a...

Old fashion rolled oats give this bread body with a wonderful chew. An excellent sandwich bread toasted, grilled or as French toast. Don’t add more flour too quickly. As the oats absorb the milk, the dough will firm up. Hand knead the dough into a nice ball before the ferment. As this dough is firm, it...

This is a luxurious white bread. It has a soft crumb and a wonderful crisp crust created by an olive oil wash. It is quickly becoming a favourite in my house. This recipe comes with a variety of choices. For the fat, you may use vegetable oil, olive oil,  butter or vegetable shortening. For sweetness, try honey, sugar...

  Potato bread using flaked potatoes is one of my favourite breads. Sweet and light it is wonderful just plain as well as toasted with jam. My grandkids go nuts over it...

Guinness Draught beer is an Irish dry stout. It is described as “Mahogany brown with creamy white head; coffee, toasted malt and hops aromas; medium to full body, creamy smooth flavour and nice touch of bitterness to finish.” My beer bread has tended to be based on India Pale Ales. I thought it would be...

This recipe is a delicious near crustless bread made in a pullman pan called Pain de Mie. “Pain” in French means “bread”, and “la mie” refers to the soft part of bread, called the crumb. The size is just larger than a slice of cheese for a grilled cheese sandwich. The bread was also excellent for French toast...

Challah is a classic braided egg bread and a crowd pleaser. Challah has become a favourite of mine for occasions. The eggs and butter create a yummy chew. There are many ways to braid the dough from a basic pan to a three strand, round to even a bowl. Don’t let a fear of braiding hold you back...

    Beer like bread share common ingredients: water, yeast and grain. This recipe is a lean bread with a pre-ferment of the yeast with some flour and water to give the yeast time to break down the flour. Most of the taste is derived though from the beer. The recipe is designed to use...

Soda breads are fun as start to eating is under an hour. You only need a bowl, spatula, sifter, measuring cup/spoons and a 8.5×4.5 inch loaf pan. If you are new to making bread, this is a great recipe to start with...