by Stephanie on January 25, 2012
Were I a professional baker, I probably wouldn’t end up with flat, under-risen loaves of bread on a near-regular basis. I probably wouldn’t have nightmares in my sleep of covering my entire kitchen in flour or burning forgotten breads to a crisp in the oven. I probably wouldn’t have daily ruminations like, “Did I OVERknead the bread or UNDERknead it?” while staring at my computer screen, and the mere thought of a sourdough starter wouldn’t send me straight to the grocery store, grabbing a pretty, freshly baked loaf in fear and exclaiming, out loud, to no one, “How do they DO it?!”
But, professional bakers probably think about these things, too, from time to time. You can’t tell me Peter Reinhart hasn’t had a few floppy baguettes or soggy bagels in his time, or that every loaf of bread that emerges from Rose Levy Beranbaum’s oven is absolutely perfect (Oh, who am I kidding? It probably is).
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by Stephanie on January 18, 2012
This has been one horrible, no good, very bad week so far.
I know this isn’t why you came here. You came here for doughnuts, not to hear about how my car’s windshield wipers stopped working in the middle of a snowstorm, or how I broke my new necklace the first day I wore it and then subsequently spilled coffee all over my pants at work, or how I tried to make simple things like poached eggs and grilled cheese (grilled cheese!) for dinner and failed miserably, or how, lately, some of my life’s circumstances getting the better of me.
But I’m keeping it real, here, people. Sometimes, we just have a really crummy week.
Thankfully, we also have doughnuts.
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by Stephanie on January 11, 2012
There are a few things I can’t get enough of: Mini pigs, paintings by Van Gogh, brownies with ice cream, intriguing and nail-bitingly dramatic episodes of “Mad Men” (and perhaps moreso, their style) and now, a new addition to the list. Ladies and gentlemen, meet povitica.
When mine eyes were first laid upon this bread (probably on Pinterest, another distraction I never seem to tire of, even many long hours after my droopy eyes have said, “Enough with the DIY hanging plant holders!”), I knew it had to be in my kitchen. Right. Now. There was no time to waste! I was a girl obsessed! This bread was destined to get in my belly! It was admittedly a low point.
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by Stephanie on December 22, 2011
Let it be said that this time of year, the most wonderful time of the year, is meant for caroling and baking cookies and decorating trees and putting up lights and skating on lakes and wrapping our hands around mugs of hot cocoa.
Let it be said that this time of year is meant for celebrating good tidings, family and friends, blessings and a humble birth in a manger.
Let it be said this time of year is not for worrying about the silly little things, risking your bank account or life for that “perfect” gift, opening old wounds and harboring resentment.
I know it’s a tough truth to grasp, and I am the first to admit that I’ve spent a ridiculous amount of this month worrying instead of celebrating. Though there still were cookies involved.
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by Stephanie on December 14, 2011
There are so many cookies in my life right now.
Seriously — I’ve got pepperminty candy cane cookies, fudgy chocolate crinkles, peanut butter balls and snickerdoodles coming out of my ears. You’d think — and normally, I would think, too — that this is a Christmas miracle, but I’ve come to learn that my sweet tooth can handle only so many sweets. It’s a diva like that.
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