Bread Toast Crumbs
Recipes For No Knead Loaves And Meals To Savor Every Slice
By Alexandra Stafford with Lisa Lowery; Photographs by Eva Kolenko
Clarkson Potter Publishing
Peasant Bread is so easy to make and so delicious, approachable even for those who have never made bread. The author, Alexandra Stafford was raised eating this bread daily. However, the recipe was a long held family secret. The legend goes that her mother Lisa Lowery refused to share it, and even misdirected friends and family as to how to make it. Eventually, Lowery relented and Alexandra put the no-knead “miracle bread” recipe on her Internet Blog, Alexandra's Kitchen, and now the pair has published a cookbook with a collection of easy-to-make breads and related dishes.
The basic no knead recipe for Peasant Bread, and variations are shared in Bread, Toast, Crumbs. The first section titled Bread is all about baking the loaves; the Toast section shares recipes on how to use bread in many popular dishes; and the third section covers how to incorporate “Crumbs” and leftover loaves into salads, soups and more… The book is appropriate for a beginner or an advanced baker, guiding the reader with precise directions and tips for optimum baking results. Do be aware that kosher substitutions are necessary for a few of the recipes.
We asked Alexandra to share some of her personal cooking and baking advice:
What are your favorite 3 must have bread-making tools for the kitchen?
1. A digital scale. A scale eliminates human error. If you put 10 people in a room and had each person scoop 4 cups of flour into a bowl, each bowl of flour would weigh a different amount. If you told the same 10 people to each put 512 grams of flour into a bowl, each bowl of flour would weigh exactly the same.
2. A spatula. I love the GIR brand because the spatulas are all one piece, which makes them easy to clean and doesn't allow food to hide in crevices.
KosherEye agrees! We love our GIR tools!
3. Cloth bowl covers. For years I used a tea towel to cover bowls of rising bread, and, of course, a tea towel still does the job well. However, I love these cloth bowl covers from Dot and Army, which stay in place and are nice to look at. Truly, just seeing them makes me happy. (KosherEye tried these and they make us happy too! We feel like we are in Bubbie’s kitchen when we cover our rising bread.)
Many of our readers make challah every week. Any challah making tips?
My friend Holly shared her challah recipe with me several years ago, and it is the only challah recipe I make now—it comes out well every time. I think part of the reason it is so good is that it calls for making a sponge (1 cup flour, 1 cup water, yeast) that sits briefly (45 minutes) before the remaining ingredients are added. Holly makes the sponge every Friday morning before dropping the kids off at school then finishes the recipe when she gets home. I posted the recipe on my blog, and a number of people have commented, noting how well it has come out for them, too. I also used Holly's base challah recipe to make babka, which was also a hit. Here is Holly's challah recipe.
Try Alexandra’s legendary family recipe for No Knead Peasant Bread.
Cookbook Giveaway - Two readers will be randomly chosen to win the cookbook Bread Toast Crumbs
Giveaway limited to continental U.S. only. If not living in continental U.S, you can still enter and, if selected, "gift" your prize to a continental U.S. friend or relative. The winner will be notified by email. Once notified, the winner must respond within 48 hours or the prize will be awarded to the runner-up.
This giveaway ends at 11:59PM, May 3, 2018. The Winner is Beth Meister, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
If you just can't wait to see if you are the winner, you can order this cookbook online here: https://amzn.to/2JWM0mI
Enter to Win with Rafflecopter
BONUS! DotandArmy.com Cloth Bowl Covers
In conjunction with our Bread Toast Crumbs giveaway, the creative team at DotandArmy.com
is gifting the first place cookbook winner two of their very special cloth bowl covers. These are favorites of Alexandra Stafford, and perfect for covering dough when making bread!