Bread from a Novice Baker

2011-06-22T02:16:00.000-07:00

Sometimes sitting gets boring. At my office, when you order files from the archives, if it is more than one or two files then they arrive in cardboard boxes. As I was nearing the end of my eleventh hour at work yesterday, I was suddenly hit with a wave of inspiration. Why not prop my computer and keyboard up on those boxes to make a standing workstation? Genius! I mean, I thought it was genius

Granola and Hello Again. Long Time No Speak.

2010-12-28T09:06:00.000-08:00

It has been such a long time since I've posted! Wow. Many times over the past few months I have tried to start writing a post and I've trailed off somewhere in the middle of the first paragraph, leaving a string of half-written, half-baked posts behind me. Dear readers, if there are any of you who still visit my blog, please let me explain to you why I have taken a three month break from my blog.

No Knead Bread

2010-08-31T12:00:00.000-07:00

Today I finished law school! I'm on my way to hand in my last paper of my degree. Tomorrow I start work as a legal intern in one of the many law firms in Tel Aviv. So why am I spending my last day of freedom in the kitchen? Because of a certain dark secret that I have: I'm terrified of going hungry at work. I can't explain it, but when tomorrow comes around I'll practically bring a whole

Horror Story

2010-08-25T02:58:00.001-07:00

It was Tuesday morning. I was at a wedding last night until 2 am so it's no surprise that I made this mistake. I guess it could happen to anyone. I just didn't expect it to happen to me. I woke up groggy- but with one thought going through my mind- "must. bake. bread". I've had the dough all ready to go, sitting in my fridge now for a few days. Still in my pjs, I dumped the dough out and started

Laffa

2010-08-15T01:53:00.000-07:00

After five years of university I can see the end coming close. It's been a long journey. I've studied hard, studied not so hard, made friends and said goodbye to some. I dated and dumped and got dumped and got married. I baked. I started a blog, and in two weeks I'm going to start work in a law firm. As the newest legal intern in the firm I imagine that I will boldly type, translate, photocopy

The Most Amazing Wrap Ever

2010-07-28T12:51:00.000-07:00

looks all innocent, but its really the best wrap you'll ever have. I realize that with this post I may lose all credibility I ever had as a food blogger. Either way, I am totally willing to risk it for this post. It's that good. I'm not sure where I found this recipe for the first time... I think it may have been a British blog devoted to cheap student meals. (side note about being a student and

Vegetabley Dinner Rolls

2010-07-21T13:42:00.000-07:00

Its the time of year when tons of food blogs around the world are talking about the fresh bounty of the summer season. Corn, berries, all sorts of beans and peas, cherries- these are all examples of fruits and veggies that are not easy to find in my area. Every time I read another blog post telling me the best way to use up all those extra cherries (cherry jam! cherry pie! cherry jam!) I feel

(healthy) Awesome Cookies and an Equally Awesome Salad

2010-07-11T11:56:00.000-07:00

The theme of this week is antitrust. My antitrust exam is on Monday, and so far I'm eating and sleeping monopolies, market share, cartels etc etc. I have another four exams to go (four!). When I get stressed I tend to gravitate towards food. Especially when I am reading notes- I know it sounds weird, but when I'm doing something with my hands, like, say, eating popcorn, I can get through more

Lentils and Rice: the lazy way

2010-06-30T09:25:00.000-07:00

Busy week. Jewish fast day on Tuesday (no food or water all day until 8:30 pm!) Terrible heat all week- at least 35 degrees every day, and HUMID!! It's a good thing I've started wearing scarves because otherwise my hair would be out of control frizzy. As I'm sure you are not interested in the frizziness of my hair I will get back to the topic at hand: Lentils. Lentils are awesome- besides

Strombolini

2010-06-25T05:58:00.000-07:00

don't be fooled by its ugly appearance... this baby tastes AMAZING I just finished the longest exam I ever took on US securities law (Waddup Prof. Steinberg!) It was a take-home exam that took me three whole days to write, non-stop. For the last six hours of writing I listened to Shakira's "This Time for Africa" song so many times that I had to stop myself from unintentionally writing waka waka

Cheese Danishes and a Wedding

2010-06-15T20:57:00.000-07:00

cheese danishes! and chocolate danishes! easy peasy Well, I'm back in class. Literally- I'm right in the middle of learning about internet law. Well, "learning" is kind of relative at this point. Either way, I'm in class. Since my last post I've gotten around to doing a few things. I got married. I made cheese danishes. This recipe is dead easy- just dump all the ingredients for the

Semolina Fennel Cranberry Bread (with pine nuts)

2010-05-05T23:04:00.000-07:00

Happy Bloggiversarry to Leahsleavenedbread! One year ago I started my blog on a whim. I took pictures of whoever was around and chose a domain and a blog name. Today the friend that was in that first picture is my fiance (in two and a half weeks he'll be my husband!), and I have made enough money on adsense to buy myself at least three cups of coffee. Success! My grandmother and uncle are

Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

2010-05-03T00:41:00.000-07:00

It's been so long- I almost forget how to do this. But here I am again, still in my pjs, coffee cup in hand, spent the morning photographing cookies and ate so many that I completely forgot about breakfast. Looks like it's coming back to me.I found this recipe on "Tasty Kitchen"- a communal recipe website started by the Pioneer Woman (whose blog never fails to make me laugh). The recipe promised

Biscotti D'anici

2010-03-13T09:24:00.000-08:00

Well, I've been meaning to post for a while, but my last two baking attempts were failed macarons that came out of the oven flat flat flat. That's no good, and I can't have two posts about my baking failures in a row (see pics of tomatoes and failed croissants).So Friday I decided to bake something a little easier- biscotti. These twice-baked cookies are delicious on their own or dunked in tea or

Pictures of tomatoes and One Lemon (and some failed croissants)

2010-02-03T14:10:00.000-08:00

I'm prepping you. I'm luring you in with nice pictures of tomatoes (and one lemon), so that when I show you pictures of my failed "sun-dappled" croissants at the end of this post you'll only think about how nicely the sun plays on the baked goods, and you won't think about how much they don't look like how croissants are supposed to look. Hey, at least i'm giving you a heads up.

Wild Rice and Onion Bread

2010-02-01T12:41:00.000-08:00

I’m just going to get right down to it: this bread is sooo easy. Make it, impress your friends. Just dump the ingredients in a big bowl. Mix. Wait a few minutes, knead it a bit. Refrigerate, wait a bit, and bake. Easy peasy, and it’s delicious. Make sandwiches with it, or toast it. Don’t be intimidated by the detailed instructions, they are actually very helpful. I made this recipe using

Apple Cake and Four Months to Go

2010-01-21T00:31:00.000-08:00

I’m getting married in four months (yay! let the countdown begin!). I have a dress I need to fit into. Despite this fact, I have recently determined to start blogging again- which does not only include baking and cooking- but eating! Big time. I just can’t help it though…I find these recipes filled with butter and chocolatey amazingness, and flour and brown sugar, and all good things

Welcome Back and Soft Dinner Rolls

2010-01-18T12:44:00.000-08:00

Ok, here we go. I haven't posted in a while, and its that time of night again- I'm done studying for the day but I'm not quite ready to go to sleep. Never-ending exams have started again. That means no class, and a wide-open schedule. I have a month and a half of tests to study for and papers to write. Still, right now, things are good and happy and quiet. It's like those few tranquil minutes

Chocolate Cupcakes with Mint Chocolate Frosting

2009-11-03T01:08:00.000-08:00

I recently had a discussion with a good friend of mine about the utility of being part of social networks (that sounds fancy, but really we were talking about dating and facebook). I hate to admit it, but I'm a bit of an internet junkie. I love the internet- I check the weather about five times a day, I'm on twitter, facebook, gmail and I have this blog. I don't think that I am any less

Carrot Cake with FROSTING

2009-10-29T01:44:00.000-07:00

Lately I've had a hankering to make frosting and I don't know why exactly. It started when I was back in Toronto- I made a chocolate birthday cake with chocolate frosting- the inside frosting was flavoured with orange liquer, and the outside frosting was flavoured with chocolate-coffee liquer. It was delicious, and frankly, so boozy that I'm lucky it was served as dessert after a heavy meal!

Holiday Food and Back from Vacay

2009-10-08T21:41:00.000-07:00

I just returned from Toronto. Every time I return to Israel I am amazed by the stark contrast between Canada and Israel. Everything from the culture, to the weather to temperament is different. When I left Toronto it was Fall- and it was freezing. Every day that I went outside and froze I cursed myself for not bringing boots. Funny though- all the Torontonians seemed to think that it wasn't

HIATUS

2009-09-13T16:11:00.000-07:00

I am on a hiatus. I'm in New York for a month, working as an intern in a courthouse. It's fascinating. I'm learning a lot during the day, and trying to take in as much of the city as I can at night (besides as many cupcakes from Magnolia as I can get :) ) A good friend of mine lives in NY, and her family has been kind enough to take me in for the month. Needless to say It would be extremely

Daring Bakers: Dobos Torte

2009-08-26T11:13:00.000-07:00

The deadline was the 27th of the month. Truth is, every 27th is the deadline- the Daring Bakers deadline. Every month a new baking challenge is posted for the brave of heart, the group that calls themselves the Daring Bakers. I did not feel like I was up to the challenge of creating something so fancy this month- in fact, the fanciest baking I do is a chocolate cake- but I got a little push, and

Pictures of August from Outside my Window

2009-08-19T11:36:00.000-07:00

There's a week and a half left of August- so here you go: watermelon, my beautiful niece, clean whites on the line outside, the view from my bedroom window. Enjoy the last stretch of summer- eat as much watermelon as you can, go to the beach, revel in the sun! Happy August!

Orange Fennel Salad

2009-08-18T03:41:00.000-07:00

I'm distracting myself with salad. It was either make salad, or go out buy chocolate and make eclairs. Now that's not to say that I won't be making eclairs tomorrow- I've just staved off the eclair crazies for today. And so- onwards to salad!Orange Fennel Salad1 large fennel bulb 2 oranges, cut into segmentsjuice from the cut up oranges2 T Balsamic Vinegar or Red Wine Vinegar 2 T Olive Oil salt

Mint Chocolate Chip Frozen Yogurt

2009-08-17T00:14:00.000-07:00

My freezer is PACKED. Loaves of leftover bread started tumbling out as I maneuvered cold plastic containers around to make room for yet another dessert, which our household of two (la maman and myself), would prefer not to consume in one sitting. The combination of bread overload (even for me there is a limit of how much toast I can eat, and I love toast), and summer heat has led me to a

Vanilla Ice Cream

2009-08-12T10:01:00.000-07:00

My sister R told me last week, in the name of constructive criticism, that I have too many pictures of "brown foods" on my blog. It's true. I bake bread, almost obsessively. I counted yesterday, and in the past week I've made at least twelve loaves. Bread is pretty much always brown. So, in response to Riv's comment about switching-it-up, and the ever-present summer heat, I decided to make this

Sunflower Millet Bread

2009-08-11T01:36:00.000-07:00

I went to the beach yesterday and it was amazing. I've wanted to go to the beach for about three months but have been so busy studying that I haven't made it. There is just nothing like that blissed-out feeling that you get after sitting in the sun and the sand for hours. Salty water, good company, and a good book. And the sea.... Lately sunset has been conspicuously earlier than when it was only

Chewy Ginger Cookies

2009-08-09T05:21:00.000-07:00

This weekend I was asked to bring dessert and challah to both my shabbat meals. Being a little less adventurous than my older sister R, whose delicious blueberry-lime mousse pie is sitting happily in my stomach (can I have the recipe, Rivka?), I opted for cookies. Easy to walk over to my very special meals, and easy to consume. I decided to cut down on the sugar as I'm finding a lot of baking

Seeded Sourdough

2009-08-06T22:41:00.000-07:00

The idea to put seeds on my bread came from this lovely thread on TFL. Unfortunately, I didn't think about how I would actually get the seeds on the bread. Minor oversight. At first I considered rolling the plain dough in a mixture of seeds. Didn't work so well, as I had floured the dough in order to roll the batards up, and the seeds didn't stick. I tried eggwashing the dough and then

Sourdough Bread

2009-08-05T01:58:00.000-07:00

I'm sick. I suppose it's one of life's little ironies that on my first day of vacation, my first study-free day in about three months, I got sick. Maybe it's all the stress, maybe it's because I've been hanging out with my sick (adorable) two-year-old niece, I don't know. Either way, my big beach plans and long list of things to bake has to wait now. So, no Boston Cream Pie, no airy ciabatta. No

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

2009-08-02T03:55:00.000-07:00

A few months ago I went to an engagement party of a good friend of mine. There were these oatmeal chocolate chip cookies on a plate with other food- now I can pretty much resist the temptation of chocolate chip cookies. But a good oatmeal chocolate chip cookie- the kind that goes perfectly with a cup of strong black coffee... ok pretty much anything goes well with a cup of strong black coffee

Cheese Rolls

2009-07-30T09:12:00.000-07:00

If you have not yet experienced the pleasure of taking a gloopy dough and slapping the hell out of it, let me tell you- you are missing out! The other day I came across a video of Richard Bertinet making sweet dough. There is nothing that I don't love about this video. I love how Richard Bertinet says that you have to see the dough "chenhje" (change, in a French accent,) until you see that the

We're winning! Pitas

2009-07-28T05:17:00.000-07:00

I often study at home, with my computer on beside me, blasting music. Sometimes I just happen to have my gmail account open at the same time. Incidentally, gchat is also often open (now how does that happen?).Recently my afternoons go something like this: I'll be sitting at the table, my tax code to my left, computer to the right, big cup of glorious coffee in front of me. Brow furrowed, I try

Blondies

2009-07-27T01:29:00.000-07:00

The best blondies I've ever had were made by my cousin Achsah. Achsah's an amazing baker, and often makes a few different types of squares for dessert. She cuts them up into very little squares and serves them out of the freezer.... yummm.... I never thought I had an affinity towards defrosting desserts, but let me tell you, these are good. Chewy, vanilla-y goodness. I decided to make them for

One Trick Pony: Rye Bread

2009-07-22T06:32:00.000-07:00

My good friend Chavi, whose blog I follow religiously, asked me recently what I was baking. When I told her that I was working on my technique and so would be repeating recipes she told me to watch out or I would become a one trick pony. I suppose there are worse things to be when your one trick is rye bread! I made this rye a few weeks ago and it was a big hit. Big flavour, good texture, and I

Weirdest Looking Bread I've Ever Made: Dark Wheat Honey Bread

2009-07-20T01:17:00.000-07:00

It's been about a week since I last made a loaf of bread, and besides running out of things to toast (which is basically all I eat, all the time), my hands were itching to bake. My brother-in-law (hereafter known as beloved BIL #2) recently told me that he is interested in adding whole grains and healthier bread to his diet. We came to an agreement pretty quickly- if he brought me a bag of rye

MORE FUN

2009-07-16T11:14:00.000-07:00

Ok I know that this is slightly, ok VERY off topic (I tried, but I can't connect this to baking!) Summer exams are tough. They take up a lot of energy. Needless to say, they are NOT fun. I'm part of a great group of friends who meet up once a week for dinner. This week my friend M, who just made the move to Israel, joined us. She told us that she had joined this website called "top secret dance

Jim's Sourdough- Part One

2009-07-13T08:57:00.000-07:00

I have an exam in four hours and another one in 24 hours. So clearly it's time to update my blog! I think that I've become a bit of a bread fanatic. The other day a good friend asked me what kind of bread I was baking. I responded that it's a sourdough loaf with a slow retardation, with a bit of rye which adds complex flavour... I could practically see his eyes glazing over with boredom.If there

Better Simple Pizza Dough (studying has turned me into a crazy person)

2009-07-07T01:00:00.000-07:00

If you've been noticing my statuses (stati?) on facebook, blog posts, twitter (wow we are all so connected), or really just listening to me at all for the past few weeks you will have noticed that the only thing that's going on is EXAMS EXAMS EXAMS. And so, I have been faithfully studying. Now- a thought on food during exam time. Its usually fast. Its not always healthy. It tends to be boring (ie

Rye Bread

2009-07-02T03:33:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy week. I have a rather daunting exam coming up in family law- and I had two weddings this week (ironic, eh? but both totally beautiful. Congratulations!) Unfortunately, instead of spending most of my waking moments baking, blogging, and thinking about what to bake and blog next, I've been thinking about marriage, divorce, civil unions and alimony- blech. Altogether much less

Pain D'épices

2009-06-24T13:41:00.000-07:00

Pain d'EpicesEver since I saw this recipe posted on David Lebowitz's fabulous blog I knew I had to try it out. It appealed to my bread-loving self and my cake-loving self. Who am I kidding? It mostly appealed to my I-need-something-to-butter-with-my-tea-self. And boy did this recipe deliver. The bread is slightly spicy and sweet at the same time. Hard to describe exactly, but altogether

PIZZA

2009-06-23T01:13:00.000-07:00

On international taxes... or at least thats what I wanted to name this post, but no one would have read it. That's what I'm supposed to be studying right now. And yet.... pizza baking called to me. Thats exactly the excuse I'm going to use for my professor when I fail my exam. Wish me luck.This recipe is courtesy of Nancy Baggett's 60- minute bread book: 3- 3 1/2 c flour2 1/14 tsp instant yeast 1

on why I love my friends

2009-06-18T14:25:00.000-07:00

Because they bought me a present because they love me. This week I tried out a recipe for multigrain bread courtesy of Mark from the Back Home Bakery. I've never made mutligrain bread before, and found the recipe somewhat challenging for a few reasons (which totally have to do with my inexperience and not with the recipe)-1. I think my scale isnt accurate enough- I found measuring the salt really

Summer Blues

2009-06-16T09:26:00.000-07:00

My older sister was apt when she said that in this town, she doesn't get the winter blues, she gets the summer blues. For the past week its been higher than thirty degrees every day and HUMID. When you walk outside its as if youre walking through a warm bath- and if this sounds nice to you, trust me, its not- not to mention terrible hair frizziness. Summer also means impending doom- exams are

Challah

2009-06-14T00:02:00.000-07:00

Every Friday, almost weekly for about two years, I wake up in the morning and walk, bleary eyed, to the cupboard. I take out the yeast, the sugar, the flour and the eggs. I make myself a cup of coffee, put on an apron, and begin the challa baking process. To me there is nothing that says Shabbat more than the aroma of freshly baked challot, and there is no more intensely satisfying bread-baking

Whole Wheat Bread

2009-06-07T13:57:00.001-07:00

This week I felt like a baking rockstar. I've only had my blog for about two weeks, but after receiving such positive responses about it, I just felt like handing out my URL to everyone I saw- "here, look at this, its my blog!" and "did you know I had a blog? well I do! check it out!"So, i guess i got a little ambitious. I decided to try out Peter Reinhart's whole wheat bread. Even though I don't

Leah's Cinnamon Buns

2009-06-06T13:55:00.000-07:00

Last year my university went on strike (for the second year in a row!) So while I was on extended vacation from law school, waiting for the professors and the ministry of education to work things out, I decided to start a business. I had my own home bakery- people would place their orders during the week and I would bake challa bread, cookies, and cinnamon buns out of my kitchen on Friday.The

whole wheat sourdough loaf

2009-06-05T02:57:00.000-07:00

new day, new loaf. After royally screwing up my starter, I slowly nursed it back to full strength, and was ready to try it out. I found a recipe online for an easy looking sourdough loaf and decided to try it out. It was only after leaving it to rise that I noticed how many bad reviews the recipe got.... I changed the recipe a bit so while it was rising I still had hope that it would turn out....

sourdough+ moving= i'm losing my mind

2009-06-02T07:01:00.000-07:00

I started my starter about two and a half months ago. Its been through a few ups and downs- until I finally stabilized it, and produced quite a few gorgeous loaves from it. It created tangy and crusty, flavourful bread. Then I moved. I always knew that moving was traumatic, but I didnt realize the extent of it until I took my starter out of hibernation, where it was staying with my sister for two

Cinnamnon Raisin Bread

2009-06-01T04:13:00.000-07:00

After an extended hiatus due to moving house, I'm back! Thank you Chavi, my only follower, for encouraging me to keep blogging :)So the other night I made a loaf of cinnamon raisin bread- adapted from the recipe from "the fresh loaf", and I have learned a few things. Firstly, I need a new bread loaf pan! I let my loaves proof in the fridge in a medium sized bakers secret brand loaf pan- after i

Tomato Sourdough Bread

2009-05-04T03:00:00.000-07:00

welcome to my blog!two weeks ago i decided to take the plunge and create my very own sourdough starter. its been a bit rough as the weather here has been sporadic and the heat and humidity really affected the starter. i think im going to post pics of what im making now and then ill work backwards. Last night I decided to get creative and make tomato-sourdough bread, something i've been wanting to