Apple Pie, Patis, and Pâté

First of all, the bad news: there will be no Bread Baking Day in September and October. What’s to keep our ovens fired up now that the mercury is dropping, you may ask? The good news is it’s almost time for world’s largest virtual breadbasket, the 3rd annual World Bread Day, to be hosted in October by none other than Bread Baking Day’s creator, Zorra of 1x umrühren bitte. We all have plenty of baking to do until the new theme for Bread Baking Day is announced in November, so look forward to details and the official announcements!

In the meantime, check out 35 whole grain bread entries for this month’s Bread Baking Day. Enjoy the roundup!

View Bread Baking Day 13: 100% Whole Grains Roundup »

Chocolate pot de crème is my dessert of choice for intimate gatherings because it is easily scalable and can be made a day in advance. A silky custard baked in single-serving portions, pots de crème can be topped with fresh fruits, whipped cream, or chocolate shavings to make a dainty-looking but unfussy dessert.

You may already have the ingredients necessary to make this version of pots de crème, perhaps with the exception of chocolate liquor. Chocolate liquor is also known as baking chocolate, consisting of roughly 50% cocoa powder, 50% cocoa butter, and 0% sugar. The bitterness will short-circuit your palate for a bit so don’t confuse it with regular sweetened chocolate when snacking. A small amount is enough to lend the custard a deep but pleasant bittersweet flavor.

View Pots de Crème au Chocolat recipe »

Ginataan is a Filipino cooking technique where ingredients such as vegetables, seafood, or fruits are simmered in coconut milk. It can be sweet or savory depending on the ingredients — the term ginataan by itself refers to a warm dessert soup traditionally served in the Philippines as merienda, mid-afternoon snacks that help make the long wait between lunch and dinner more tolerable.

Eggplants and green beans make up the gulay or vegetable portion of this recipe. It can also include squash (kalabasa), bitter melon (ampalaya), and okra, but this recipe calls for the vegetables that cook quickest. This version is done in about 15 minutes after all the prepping is done.

This green and purple ginataan dish is exactly how I remember it prepared in our household. Incidentally, that same juxtapose of colors is the reason I wouldn’t eat it as a child. It reminded me of none other than Batman’s arch-nemesis, The Joker. I found his wide maniacal grin disturbing, but even worse, he also reminded me of clowns.

View Ginataang Gulay - Vegetables Simmered in Coconut Milk recipe »

I grinned like an idiot as I lifted the dark brown loaves from the charred baking stone with bare hands. The soft crust smiled back with its wide open slashes, a sight that every bread maker hopes for upon opening the oven door. It didn’t matter that my calloused fingertips started to burn or that hot air threatened to singe my eyebrows into an unnatural curl; the scent of steaming mugs of hot chocolate made the pain strangely comforting.

Half melted chocolate morsels that clung perilously to the crust instead of being safely nestled inside the warm loaf tempted me to pick on it. I decided to wait until the following morning, a cup of freshly brewed coffee in hand.

More importantly, I decided to wait until after taking photos.

If you read this far, two things may seem obvious: the coffee I’m having as I write this is really strong and this semisweet chocolate bread is pure bliss.

View Pane al Cioccolato - Italian Chocolate Bread recipe »

I previously mentioned the combination of sesame and flax seeds in the form of unleavened honey-glazed crackers. I always keep sacks of sesame and flax on hand to fuel the addiction to the sweet and salty crisps but this hearty leavened version is showing up more frequently in my daily weekly baking schedule.

The baking temperature for this whole grain loaf is much higher than that used for the crackers and it makes a noticeable difference in the finished product. The higher heat is more effective in drawing out flavor from the sesame and flax seeds, allowing the nutty oils to thoroughly flavor and permeate the dough.
View Whole Grain Sesame Flaxseed Bread recipe »