flour

Mini Baguettes

I'm always in search of a fast bread recipe, and this baguette formula made some pretty reliable little loaves. Terrific right out of the oven, they'll keep well if tightly wrapped and frozen. Pop them into a 350 oven until they're warm and you have a terrific sandwich bread or something to go with dinner - perfect for two.

This recipe comes from The Thrifty Gourmet, and uses only 5 ingredients - pretty typical for a lean bread. These are things all pantries should have, but if you don't have bread flour, you can use all purpose flour just fine.

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Blueberry Muffins with Lemongrass

My eyes are always bigger than my stomach, and my plans grander than there is room to keep the results. One Thursday last summer I found myself at three different farmers markets, seduced by escalating richness of the Seattle-area bounty. I try hard to have a plan before I buy something, and after my first stop and purchase of two flats of strawberries, I was still on track. At the second, I bought only a few tomatoes, perfumed and spicy, I knew there was a place for those. At the third, I went off the rails.

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Crumpets

Just about once a month Emma and I get together and decide on a baking project. She and I went through pastry school together and have pretty similar tastes and skills (although she's a much more precise baker than I am), so baking the same thing in a month means we get to compare notes about the techniques, recipes, and results. Maybe it's a nerdy baker thing we do, but I can't emphasize how important that partnership is in making me a better baker.

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Gateau de Crepes

I've only had this once, but the memory of it is like a dream. A cold night in New York, walking the Upper East Side with my best friend Tanarra - searching for a bakery whose name I was unsure of. I'd heard of this cake before - layers of crepes separated by vanilla pastry cream, and I heard this place had them. I think we got the last piece that night.

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