Friday, April 23, 2010

The Master Baker turns Six Today (months)





If there is one thing that has surprised me most since I started blogging is how much I love to bake bread.  It was just six months ago today that I posted my very first bread.  I made a Fugasse Bread, and I thought I was on the top of the world!  Just for fun, follow THIS LINK and read over what I did for that first loaf.  If you will excuse the braggadocio, I was pretty pleased with the bread and my writing for that post.  I was hooked, and I have been working on my bread skills ever since.  Little did i suspect that those skills would come in VERY handy here in paradise.  Bread has a couple of things working against it on the island.  It is labor intensive to make, and it has a short shelf life.  Bread from the states is several days old by the time it gets to the store shelves here.  So, quality loafs of bread are expensive.  Easily $6 for wonder bread and up to $10 or more for an artisan loaf.  So, necessity and cost has given me a wonderful excuse to hone my baking skills.


Today, in honor of my 6 month birthday, I am going to give you several links to recipes I have made in the past week, but also I am going to show you what I do with the bread.  Bread is a staple in my menu plans.  So, I am going to show you the loafs with links, but also where they ended up feeding us during this last week...


So, i give you a week in the life of an islander bread eater...


Above is a loaf of Cinnamon Raisin Walnut Bread.  This is Jackie's bread, as I am not a fan of raisins.  She had a slice every day for breakfast.




I also made her some French Toast one evening for dinner...  Jackie said it was out of this world good!






I now have  a bread recipe memorized...  I make MOOMIE BUNS every week.  Moomie buns are incredibly easy, easy to adapt and fast.  I have gotten into a habit of topping them with my sesame seed/sea salt mixture that adds a little extra once the seeds and salt are roasted.  Chicken sandwiches and cheater shrimp po'boys are on the menu most weeks.




This week, I used my Moomie Buns for their intended purpose.  I am working on a blue cheese bacon burger, but I have not gotten the blue cheese sauce correct yet, so I haven't posted the meal (anyone have a good blue cheese sauce for a burger???).  I have posted the plantain fries with a lime zest/sea salt accent.




And finally, this week I made a loaf of Eng's Bread.  Eng's bread is a sweetened French bread.



I love the rotisserie chicken that I get here cheap.  SO, an open face chicken sandwich, with some smoked Gouda cheese, broiled for a few minutes to get the cheese that pretty toasted look.


I have already posted the sandwich I made above... My version of a bad Croque Madame!




I made some French Toast...




But you know, deep down, I am just a simple guy eating a simple lunch...


Next week, I will be making a ciabatta bread.  I also plan on making some more crackers, and I am sure that a batch of moomie buns will be in the works.  Bread baking is a pretty good skill to have.


I have always been a work in progress.  Blessed with courage and ignorance, it's been a pretty good 6 months!

12 comments:

  1. Dave, you have been one busy guy. The bread looks divine!!!!!!

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  2. It is good to have home baked bread, hearty and fresh!! Have a nice weekend ahead.

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  3. Living on a tropical island...home-baked bread at every meal...now that is paradise if ever I heard of it. I love all of your variations and each loaf looks delicious!

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  4. Happy monthaversary! That chicken and gouda made me drool, btw :)

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  5. I am sure you started calling yourself the "master baker" with tongue in cheek, but you are indeed turning out to be one. All of the bread looks delicious!

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  6. Wow, unbelievable how expensive bread is for you! Break baking is indeed a good skill to have, I would imagine! And it looks like you're doing great - that cinnamon raisin bread? mmmmm...

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  7. Wow - that french toast looks out of this world...perhaps that's what I should make for breakfast this weekend. I put peanut butter and chocolate chips between two slices of bread and then do the french toast thing....

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  8. Happy six month anniversary! Your breads are gorgeous. I am still intimidated by baking bread...can't seem to get over that hump. Every single one of yours looks delicious.

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  9. I need to bake some bread this weekend!! Everything looks wonderful Dave. I found this online - not sure if it's good, but its worth a shot!

    2 shallots, chopped finely
    4 tablespoons butter
    6 ounces blue cheese, crumbled
    1/2 cup heavy cream
    1/4 teaspoon pepper

    Cook the shallots in the butter until soft - about 7 minutes - don't brown them. Mix in the blue cheese using a fork to mash into the botter, forming a paste. Add the heavy cream and mix well - be careful not to boil. Stir in pepper.

    Happy Friday!

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  10. Happy half anniversary. Your bread looks wonderful. Hope all is well. Blessings..Mary

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  11. Despite all the foodie posts I'm a fallback PB&J girl too. You should entitle this "Even real men bake bread" as you have seriously mastered it. And honestly after you master bread, store bought is never the same.

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  12. I dabbled in read for years before moving to Andorra - then had to get serious for the same reason - well, not quite. They had great 'daily bread' - the kind you buy in the morning for that day's use, but nothing for sandwiches.... And, as we lived up on the 'hill' (1300 meters) we didin't want to be running down every morning for bread... So, I baked bread... Congrats on 6 months.

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