I’m looking outside my window at the dense fog and winter chill clinging to bony tree branches and wishing I could see sunshine and palm trees instead.
I’m sitting here surrounded by a pile of crumpled Kleenexes with raging sinus pressure and wishing that I could snap my fingers and this horrible cold would just disappear.
I’m [...]
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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 [...]
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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 [...]
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If I ran my own bed and breakfast, I’d bake these cinnamon rolls every morning. Scratch that — when I have my own bed and breakfast, I will bake these cinnamon rolls every morning. I’ll be just like Sookie on “Gilmore Girls.” (Salmon puffs. Sal-mon puffs.)
Truth be told, I may never have enough time or [...]
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Thanksgiving is almost upon us, people! Does that freak you out? It shouldn’t; it really shouldn’t. Even if the turkey is tough and the pies are burnt to a crisp and all you’ve got left to eat are dinner rolls and a marshmallow fluff and green Jell-O salad, hey, it’s OK. Are you surrounded by [...]
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I know what you’re thinking.
This is a Thanksgiving food. I know. I know. And it’s not even Halloween yet.
Here’s the thing — I get really excited about holidays. And I get even more excited about holiday food. It’s a strange compulsion, one I’m trying to work out with my imaginary therapist, but the fact remains [...]
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I’m starting anew.
With the way life has been lately, it’s the only way to go. I’m not complaining — in fact, I’ve learned more about myself, about others, about life in general these past couple of months than I have in a long time, and I am grateful. It’s another step in the process of [...]
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I’m trying to get back into the swing of things. Life is slowly getting back to normal — well, a new normal, that is. Grief is a funny thing, because even if you’ve been through it before, the pain never gets easier. But I have learned that the only way to get through it is [...]
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I knew about this one.
I knew about this one the first time I saw it.
I knew, like the way you know about a good melon, that this bread would be fantastic.
And sure enough, I was right. Very right.
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As you may or may not know, I’m a fan of beer. I’m a really big fan of wine, but I’ve already put that into a pizza crust. I’ve put beer into bread before, too, but I wanted to use it in a pizza crust, as well. Just you wait — next time, I’ll make [...]
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I’ve been trying to write a bucket list for years, ever since that one movie came out and everyone else was doing it (I’m a follower sometimes. Truth.). But, to be honest, my list is rather paltry. I never know what I want to do past “Go to Greece” (which I feel like everyone wants [...]
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Most everywhere I’ve lived, I’ve been spoiled with excellent farmers markets. My hometown in northeast Illinois has fantastic summer, spring and winter markets. I visited a few farmers markets in the Twin Cities while I was in college, and was never disappointed. And Iowa City has one of the best markets I’ve ever been to [...]
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I hear it all the time — “I can’t make bread, it’s too hard,” “I don’t have the patience to make bread,” “There’s no way I could make that!”
Poppycock. Hogwash. All of it.
I remember myself almost two years ago thinking the very same things. There’s no way I can make bread at home! Me? By [...]
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I almost didn’t share this post with you.
I almost didn’t share it because the recipe I made didn’t turn out as visually appealing as I’d hoped. Delicious, yes, but visually? Oh dear me.
But this blog isn’t about all the successful recipes I’ve made. It’s about the good, the bad and the not-so-good-looking.
For as long [...]
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Dear driver who nearly ran me over while I was walking across the designated crosswalk the other day,
Dear person who doesn’t agree with my opinions and thinks I’m a loony for thinking the way I do,
Dear construction workers who are tearing up the streets and sidewalks, literally, in front of our office building, causing my [...]
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“Live simply.” It’s so hard to do, isn’t it? This phrase has been mulling in my head over and over again for the past year. With the accumulation of more and more and more stuff over time despite efforts to de-clutter my life, sometimes I wonder if it’s ever possible to follow the mantra: “Live [...]
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I’ve had to make a lot of grownup decisions lately.
Like, deciding that I can’t eat cookies and cake and chocolate peanut butter swirl bread three times a day, every day. Well, I could, but I probably wouldn’t like it after a while.
Or deciding to watch my husband’s intramural basketball game in a gym that smelled [...]
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I’ve had a thing for crackers ever since I made those Blue Cheese & Walnut Crackers, along with my love letter to Ina Garten. There were those, and then, these flat breadsticks. Then this (these?) knäckebröd, which I made because I love those Wasa rye crisps from the grocery store, but mostly because I love [...]
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Lately, I’ve been a bit frustrated with baking bread.
You see, homemade bread is a finicky thing. You have to be sure the yeast is alive, that the flour is properly weighed and that you don’t knead the dough too little, or too much. It has to be smooth and elastic, but not sticky nor crumbly. [...]
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Greetings, dear friends —
I apologize for a delay in recipe posting. I’ve been in a coma for a few days after eating my weight in bourbon bacon pancakes. You understand.
I also took a mini break from my daily obligations to visit my dear friend Ashley (see above) in her homeland. Which used to be [...]
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I really wasn’t sure what to call this post.
Flatbread sticks?
Flat breadsticks?
Seedy breadsticks? No, that’s weird.
So, everything breadsticks it is. That way, it covers both the seeded, “everything” topping and the fact that these breadsticks turned out to be, well, all sorts of shapes. Mostly flat. Just how we used to think the Earth was.
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In case you hadn’t noticed, I changed my blog layout. I hope you like it. It feels way more like home to me.
Because I love pizza so dang much, I thought I’d make pizza dough (a new, equally tasty version of my standby) for my inaugural post for my new layout. There are still a [...]
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Ah, the new year. A time for celebration with friends, a time of remembrance of things past and a time to look forward to what the future holds. A time to make resolutions and promises and (hopefully!) not break them.
Normally, I’m not one to follow the trend of making New Year’s resolutions. This is mostly [...]
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They say when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.
I disagree. I say when life gives you lemons, throw them away (or use them to clean your garbage disposal, and then throw them away) and make challah bread.
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Ever heard of Pizza Rolls? I’m sure you have. They’re those frozen pockets of dough filled with cheese and pizza sauce as well as what I’m sure is a whole host of bad things for you.
Of course, the husband loves them.
It’s become a habit of ours lately to buy nasty frozen treats like these [...]
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I know I’ve been kind of slow on the upkeep of this blog. But it’s not my fault.
It’s his.
Go ahead and try to blame him. I know I have.
It has not gone well.
Percy, as we’ve named him, moved in this weekend and I think he’s planning to stay. I think we’re OK with it. [...]
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I am noticing that I talk about the weather a lot — most people do, I guess. It’s the quintessential ice breaker. I admit I’m one of those people who, when uninspired with anything to say, fills the dead air with talk of the weather. I can’t help it, though. It’s not just that it’s [...]
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I’m taking a (short!) break this week from baking — but don’t worry, I’ll be back in the kitchen as soon as you can say… see, I’m already back.
I’m currently obsessing over non-bread related baking items, like homemade apple chips. Yum. SO good with my new-found love, almond butter. Yes please.
But when I get the [...]
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When I look at this loaf, I think of the word “peasant.” Like, a peasant bread. Like something you’d see coming out of the hearth in the background of “A Christmas Carol,” while poor Tiny Tim tries to cut the single pea on his plate in half. (Probably one of the more devastating scenes I’ve [...]
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Gosh, I know, I know, it’s been a while.
I’m sorry.
I have so much to tell you. I could tell you about one of my dearest friend’s weddings I was in a few weeks ago (oh, I already told you about that?). I could also tell you about going to the county fair and seeing [...]
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Friends!
I forgot to tell you (OK I didn’t forget, I just haven’t gotten around to it. There, I said it. Confession.) — I’m posting recipes on Tablespoon again. So far: Blueberry Muffin Bread, Avocado Quick Bread and today, Mom’s Zucchini Bread (yes you, Ma. Love you!). And there will be more, even yummier recipes on [...]
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I’d noticed that I’ve been a little fancy lately with my recipes. Nothing over the top but, you know, none of those basic loaves. It’s just been a while.
So I thought I’d go back to a simpler time, when a handful of ingredients mixed together and left to rise makes the most amazing, tasteful bread [...]
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Yesterday was the husband’s and my very first anniversary. A year ago, on June 26, he and I both said, “I do.” And that’s that.
I have to say, I’m pretty dang lucky to have this guy in my life. He makes me happy every day. And he’s a fun roommate.
But enough on that. Let’s talk [...]
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Greetings, dear readers! I would just like to share with you my excitement over the fact that it is not only Friday, but the weekend. And not just any weekend, no no. It’s Memorial Day weekend, those glorious three days of respite in which we the people are able to bask in the summer sun [...]
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Holy heck it’s hot outside! What is it with this Iowa weather? First we have a deluge of cold, rainy days, and now it’s like the freaking Amazon. Do. Not. Understand.
The husband and I are in an epic battle with the A/C right now. Our strategy is to stand in front of fans at high [...]
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Ah, yes. Another glorious Saturday. The weekend is upon us, dear friends, let’s make the best of it!
And if you have no plans yet, you should plan on making this bread. Because it’s dang good, that’s why. I plan on spending my weekend with my awesome mom who’s visiting, and watching the series finale of [...]
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I know, I know, I swore I would never eat Indian food again after my month-long trip there over a year ago. But I must admit, this recipe really warmed me up again to the idea of Indian cuisine (I even had a rice and potato curry dish with it for dinner last night — [...]
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There is a man I work with named Roger. Roger is in charge of answering silly inquiries about subscriptions, connecting lost callers to the appropriate employee and helping little old ladies get free copies of the paper. Every Friday, while faithfully donning his Meat Loaf “Bat Out Of Hell” concert T-shirt (for casual Friday, of [...]
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Hey friends! Today is the first official day of my posts as a guest blogger on Tablespoon.com. First post — apricot hazelnut bread.
Doesn’t that look tasty? (And it’s darn good for you, too.)
Keep checking in on Girl Versus Dough this month for links to my original recipe posts on Tablespoon.com. Happy baking!
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Sometimes, when my husband and I go for really long walks (especially on days like today when it’s 63 degrees and sunny outside, and we need to take advantage of it because, oddly enough, it will be SNOWING tomorrow… c’mon, really?), we like to point out houses or parts of houses that we want ours [...]
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A good chunk of the useful devices I own in my bread-baking kitchen collection were gifted to me by my lovely sister-in-law and fellow blogger, Natalie. Using her extensive background of baking knowledge, she was kind enough to bestow upon me several baking-related gifts for Christmas. I am now the beneficiary of artisan seed topping [...]
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I would just like to note that it’s breads like these that make me wish it was sunny all the time. I understand nighttime is of supreme importance as well, but when I have a bread recipe that spans over a 24-hour period, is it too much to ask for a little sunshine from, oh, [...]
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In our continuing quest for good, vegetarian-friendly grub, the husband and I decided to make ourselves a homemade margherita pizza, with our own flair (queso fresco instead of mozzarella, plus some spinach… I’d say it was a result of culinary innovation, but really it was because we had nothing else in the fridge). I’ve always [...]
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So, after a series of days of movie-watching, article-reading and conversing with the husband, we decided it is in our best ethical interest to go what he says is called “flexitarian.” The term, if you are too lazy to look it up, refers to people who live on a mostly-vegetarian diet but will occasionally consume [...]
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This weekend my grandfather (from my mom’s side) and my grandmother (from my dad’s side) came to visit. For lunch, my grandmother brought two pounds of German deli meat — all some sort of “wurst” — and rye bread for sandwiches, and for dinner made us her household-famous stuffed cabbage, making the house smell so [...]
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Sometimes, when I’m feeling a little insecure about my current talents, I reminisce about the days when I used to be able to do certain things. Like do flips on a trampoline. Or fit through one of those collapsible play tunnels. Or have enough imagination to act out an entire three-hour scenario of soap-opera proportions [...]
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In case you live in a bubble and/or somewhere warm like Hawaii or Florida or California (and, in which case, of whom I am green with envy), it is snowing. Yes, those tiny white flakes are falling from the sky and landing in a puffy blanket of similar friends who are all congregating in a [...]
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Sigh. It is officially fall.
Every day (almost), I get up and go to work and brew coffee/slice tomatoes/make garlic bread/say to customers, “Have a nice day; please take your number; would you like your receipt?”, and then I leave work and am often tired and slightly cranky, and I see the school bus-yellow, fire [...]
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There’s been a lot of change in my life lately.
And by lately, I mean for nearly a year.
And by change, I mean big change.
Last November, I got engaged. In December, I graduated. In January, I learned about anthropology and business (and how to eat strange foods) in India (A+ in the class, F in adapting [...]
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If at first you don’t succeed, try an easier recipe. So, in my second attempt to prevail in the wheat bread baking round of fisticuffs (though I have no harsh feelings towards the yummy grains), I decided to choose a recipe that I love because a) I found it on one of my favorite cooking [...]
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Bad news, folks. Bad, bad news.
I decided, in the early stages of my adventure, to try my hand at my favorite type of loaf – 100 Percent White Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread. From the beginning, my toes tingled at the thought of baking my very own sliced bread in the kitchen, one that looks like [...]
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Oh, people. I am in bread heaven right now. And it smells like garlic and rosemary.
In my second adventure down Bread Baking Lane (ouch – too cliché? Better than “Breadtown,” which I thought about using), I decided to concoct another Food Network recipe (because I heart them) for Multi-Grain Focaccia With Herbs and Garlic. I [...]
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I’m starting with the bare essentials. Flour. Yeast. Water. Some salt and some sugar, and extra virgin olive oil, and I find myself prepared for a basic bread dough, courtesy of the orange Croc-clad Mario Batali.
I began, in my neurotic enthusiasm, going exactly according to the recipe. I tried, however, to mix the batter with [...]
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