I knew I was only going to have a couple of hours to make dinner, so I wanted to try a single-rise bread. Something I could do start-to-finish in about two hours instead of the usual three or four. I went looking for recipes and came across this page of general tips for making bread. Lots of good stuff there, but one thing I halfway disagree with. Each rise you give bread dough increases the flavor. So let it rise, punch it down, let it rise again, and you'll have more flavor than in a single … [Read more...]

Depending on who you ask, kaiser rolls have to have poppy seeds, or sesame seeds, or be dusted with cornmeal. You need a special stamp just for making the cuts in the top, or you need to do the cuts with scissors and twist the dough just so. Well if you ask me, the way I did them here looks just fine, and tastes even better. (And by the way, poppy seeds? Doesn't that make them poppy seed rolls? I'm just sayin'.) … [Read more...]