french baguettes

It's been awhile since we've had a nice traditional baguette. These are half-sized since they are only about a foot long. I shaped them this morning after retarding the dough in the fridge the past few days, proofed a while, then threw them on the preheated stone, et voilà! Freshly baked baguettes with tonight's Spaghetti Bolognese!

sourdough cheese bâtard

Another cheese bread -- this one is a crusty sourdough version of the cheese sandwich bread I posted earlier. It's stuffed with just sharp cheddar this time and is a thing of beauty. I particularly love how the cheese erupted out of the slashes. :-)

crackers!

My first attempt at making crackers! I was hesitant to try making them because it seemed like it would be pretty complicated, but it's actually very straightforward and simple. They are actually much easier than most things I bake. These crackers are full of good things (and are a great source of Omega 6 fatty acid) and are topped with sesame seeds. I've been noshing on them as they've been cooling and can't wait to actually try them with cheese!

wilton course 2 finale cake

Last night was my last class of Wilton Course 2. Pictured above is my finale cake for the class -- the birds were made from a mixture of confectioners' sugar, water and Wilton Color Flow (essentially powdered egg whites, I'm told). The flowers were made from Royal Icing and were all made in advance and dried. I did the basketweave pattern and the rope borders during class (click on the picture for a larger image). The underlying cake is Cook's Illustrated's Devil's Food Cake, which I've baked once before for P.'s birthday last summer. Big thanks as always to Evelyn for her encouragement and tireless patience.

cheese sandwich bread

This is a soft cheese-swirled bread I made yesterday in a loaf pan. It didn't rise as high as I had hoped -- I let it proof beyond the suggested time, but in the end I was concerned about overproofing (and its special ramifications) and popped in the oven, hoping for some serious oven spring. I stuffed the bread with a mixture of sharp Cheddar and feta. Some large voids occurred when the cheese melted down, making it look rather rustic, but rendering it problematic for use in sandwiches!