Because 2 days is never enough.

My 3DayWeekend “baker’s holiday” with my Mom and Larry was a smashing success, but that’s to be expected since they are the baking pros. We got snowed in the day after I arrived, which made staying indoors to bake even more appealing.

Day 1

• 3 Loaves of White Bread
  We used a simple “quick bread” recipe that has amazing flavor. (It’s quick because the dough only has to rise once.) It’s great in a sandwich, as french toast, or by itself. You can make either 2 medium size loaves or 3 small loaves - and it’s easy to freeze a loaf to eat later. My Mom used it to make french toast for breakfast the next morning with maple syrup and a touch of powdered sugar. She also used it to make the most amazing grilled cheese sandwich (with Muenster) I’ve had in awhile. We dunked it in our favorite tomato and roasted red pepper soup from Trader Joe’s. I used the loaf that wasn’t as shapely as the others to make garlic croutons and panko breadcrumbs.

• Croutons: I tossed cubes of the bread in olive oil and garlic, and sauteed on the stove top until crunchy. They were great with the salad we had for dinner and they are also good submerged in soup.
• Breadcrumbs: I left slices of the bread out overnight to dry and then smashed them into miniscule pieces. Alternatively you can bake bread slices at 200° until they are dry and crush in a food processor. You can also season the crumbs with herbs, garlic powder, or salt. The crumbs go great with chicken breasts. I like to cover the breasts in homemade yogurt, coat with breadcrumbs, then bake in the oven for several minutes on each side. (This technique also works well for chicken tenders.)

• 3 Loaves of Rustic Italian Bread
  These free-form loaves were baked on a stone in the oven without bread pans. We used a Banneton/Brotform basket for one of the loaves when it was proofing and it gave it a nice shape that it retained while it was baking. I used part of a loaf to make garlic crostini when I got back to New York.

Day 2

• 2 loaves of Crusty Honey Whole Wheat Bread
  I used a recipe from Bob’s Red Mill and substituted cow’s milk for the goat’s milk. This recipe calls for an egg in the ingredients and then does not actually include it in the instructions. I made it without the egg and it looked and tasted just fine. To use the egg, add it to the bowl before you start adding the flour. I didn’t have any soy flour on hand, but it’s great to substitute a cup’s worth for the unbleached white flour.
• 2 loaves of Italian Herb Bread
  These nice big loaves had a very subtle herb flavor and were great for lunch and dinner.
• Lemon Bars on Brown Butter Shortbread (from the Tartine cookbook)
  The cookbook suggests using whole pine nuts in the crust since they are complimentary to the lemon. I think the pine nuts were a nice touch, but I might use the pestle and mortar to create smaller pieces next time. These are chock full of lemony goodness with a nice crunchy crust — I will definitely make them again.





• Chicken Risotto with Peas
  Larry showed me all the tricks for making risotto using the chicken stock he made from the roast chicken we had the night before.

I don’t think I’ve ever eaten this much bread in my life! I guess that is the price I have to pay to become a better baker. All of this practice has made me much more confident with my breadmaking skills, but now I’m even more envious of Mom and Larry’s big kitchen.