Little Tom Tucker

Sings for his supper;

What shall he eat?

White bread and butter.

- Anonymous

Brioche

This white bread is made with lots of butter -- brioche dough shaped into loaves instead of the traditional round bread with the big knot on top. I prefer this shape as it's easy to slice for toast and the leftover (when there is any leftover) is the perfect shape for French toast. Frustrated with not being able to buy croissants or brioche made with simple pure ingredients with no additives, I decided to make my own. It isn't difficult, just requires a block of time to allow for the various risings, especially the overnight one in the fridge. But with a little planning, it's a piece of cake. Hmm, slice of bread?

The Bun Also Rises

Swedish Saffron Pretzel Buns

After my successful experience with the brioche dough, I was in the right frame of mind to move on to more yeast dough projects. As I browsed through the new King Arthur flour catalog, the picture of the Swedish Saffron Pretzel Buns jumped off the page at me. Reading through the ingredient list and the simple steps, I just had to try them.

I didn't shape the dough into pretzel shapes, as you can see. Just made my usual sticky bun configuration. The buns, with no icing as they appear above, are fine plain, but you might like to slice them in half, butter and lightly grill in a sauté pan over medium heat. They become the perfect canvas for a spoonful of St. Dalfour's preserves or better yet, a dollop of raw, unfiltered orange blossom honey. My neighbor surprised me with a jar straight from the hive yesterday so I put it right to work. I used the simple almond icing suggested on a half dozen and sprinkled crushed almonds over the top. It's hard to eat only one.

Almond Icing and Crushed Raw Almonds

I used King Arthur Select Artisan, 100% organic, all purpose flour for the buns and the brioche. Publix carries several basic varieties of King Arthur flours. If you enjoy baking, King Arthur is the go-to resource for all your baking needs. Check out the recipes online and request a catalog. Baking is such a satisfying undertaking and learning to work with yeast dough is very rewarding. I'm particularly pleased with the results of the buns above. Not only are they lovely to behold - - they taste wonderful, too.

Calling all non-cooks. . .

I haven't forgotten those of you who don't cook, don't want to cook, have no time to cook, etc. I didn't feel like cooking last night, either. I really wanted to save some of my daily calorie budget for a bun! A quick salad filled the bill. Some crisp hearts of romaine, thinly sliced Vidalia onion, a vine ripened tomato, a couple of slices of bacon and a little crumbled gorgonzola with a lacing of homemade Ranch dressing provided a plateful of fresh, fast, tasty food. With plenty of room left over for an almond bun.

Bacon, Gorgonzola and Ranch Dressing

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BOOK NOOK

Hilma Wolitzer - The Doctor's Daughter

Michael Connelly - Echo Park

David Baldacci - The Collectors

'till next time . . . Keep On Cooking!