Pumpkin Cinnamon Swirl Yeast Bread

Pumpkin Cinnamon Swirl Yeast Bread

This week I had some leftover pumpkin puree in the refrigerator that I needed to use up before it went bad… so I decided to make a Japanese style pumpkin cinnamon swirl bread.  This is not a cake-like sweet loaf like pumpkin bread…. instead, it’s a yeasty bread that you can slice to make toast [...]

Christmas Stollen (German sweet fruit bread: “Weihnachtsstollen” or “Christstollen”)

Christmas Stollen

Stollen is a German/Austrian winter holiday tradition – a sweet yeast bread containing dried and candied fruits and nuts, coated thickly with a powdered sugar shell.  Typically, this bread is usually served during Christmas, when it is called “Weihnachtsstollen“, “Christstollen“, or “Dresden Christstollen“.  This holiday staple originated about 500 years ago in the Christmas markets [...]

Taiwanese Watermelon Toast (Asian Watermelon Inspired Bread)

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Earlier this week, I read some articles on the “Watermelon Toast” craze that has hit Taiwan.  Lee Wen-fa (a head baker at Jimmy’s Bakery in Yilan County, Taiwan) created a fantastic watermelon shaped and colored loaf of fluffy Asian style milk bread (shokupan) in order to “encourage young children to eat more during the hot summer [...]

Homemade Fresh Croissants from Scratch

Homemade croissants from scratch!

For my latest project, I decided to tackle homemade croissants.  I thought I would try using a really easy dough, like the Master Bread dough recipe that I posted not too long ago… because when you are making something complex like croissants… the easier you can make all the steps the better.  But I don’t [...]

Master Artisan Bread Recipe and Technique (“5 minute European bread loaf”)

Rustic European Bread

Long ago, I struggled with making bread – no matter what, the dough wouldn’t rise or something would go wrong – and I would end up with a gummy or yeasty heavy loaf that didn’t turn out.  (Or my hands would get tired kneading and I’d give up too soon.)  I’ve made a lot of [...]

Pumpkin Cornbread

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It’s fall!  That means that pumpkin puree is on sale in many markets (I saw canned pumpkin on sale for $1.99/can, and sugar (pie) pumpkins at 2 for $5 at the market yesterday.)  But what can you do with pumpkin puree besides making pumpkin bread and pumpkin pie?  At some point, I get sick of [...]

Bread Pudding in Whiskey Butter Sauce

Bread Pudding with Whiskey Butter Sauce

This past week, most of San Diego county has been on fire.  I think at one point, there were 9 separate fires burning all over the county… and one of the biggest fires was in my city.  Our entire community had to evacuate, with very little notice.  On day 1 of the evacuation, I ran [...]

Japanese Carrot Raisin Yeast Bread (Carrot Raisin Shokupan)

Carrot Raisin Shokupan (Japanese Carrot Raisin Yeast Bread)

Last month, I posted a recipe for Carrot Ginger Walnut Sweet Rolls - a wonderful variation on the cinnamon roll.  I also wanted to post the technique and recipe for turning this dough into a loaf of bread that can be sliced and toasted, made into french toast, used for sandwiches, or eaten plain.  If you [...]

Pizza Bread Rolls

Pizza Rolls

Earlier this month, I posted a recipe for Carrot Ginger Walnut Sweet Rolls.  I love making sweet/filled rolls… they make a great breakfast, dessert, or afternoon snack.  Filled rolls also are great for a crowd – one recipe usually makes 16 servings – so it’s a great dish to make and bring to a potluck. [...]

Carrot Ginger Walnut Sweet Rolls

Carrot Ginger Walnut Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting

Happy Spring!  Here’s one of my new recipes… a carrot ginger-walnut roll, similar to a cinnamon roll.  The dough is made with pureed carrots, and the filling flavored with ground ginger – for a interesting variation on the sweet roll.  Topped with a salty-sweet rich cream cheese frosting, this is a wonderful pastry to serve [...]