Amazing, but true—the snow did follow me to the West Coast. First Boston, now this. Woke up with 4 or 5 inches of fresh snow on the hills of Whidbey Island. Magical, but I’ve had enough. Mushroom Pizza with Sage, Fontina, and Parmesan Adapted from Baking Illustrated INGREDIENTS for the Basic Pizza Dough 1/2 cup […]
Category: Yeast Breads
Margherita Pizza
As I am wont to adjoin my baking exploits to profound philosophical musings, the depth I have to offer today is: Izzy looks like Hungry Hungry Hippo. Busy day, that’s what I got. Margherita Pizza Adapted from Baking Illustrated INGREDIENTS for the Basic Pizza Dough 1/2 cup warm water (about 110°) 1 envelope (2 1/4 […]
Fresh Tomato Pizza with Arugula and Prosciutto
Discovered the Bluffs at Ebey’s Landing this afternoon on a jog that turned into a four-hour wandering on Whidbey Island. The highlight was divining a trail through the half-plowed fields of a farm, cutting my way through bracken and clover to the sea, along the damp rocks of which I found my way home. Fresh […]
Three-Cheese Pizza
Participated in a student reading today at the Whidbey Workshop, always a nerve-wracking experience because of the mother-love one comes to have for their own writing; though my essay may very well be a butt ugly baby, I want the audience to smile and coo at it all the same. I had just such an […]
White Pizza with Spinach and Ricotta
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! It is wonderful to be in a green place, the Pacific Northwest, for the holiday. Sometimes a poem can be like a tuning fork for a day, setting a pitch for our thoughts. It seems fitting to let Seamus Heaney’s poem “Oysters” be the note to strike, as I sit on […]
Hearty Herb Bread
Something in my neck has coiled as it should not. My world has been halved with left hemi-neglect. Please approach me from the right until further notice. This bread was not the best, it’s contest winning somewhat suspect as now is my opinion of Bob’s taste. It is, however, healthy and hearty and nicely herbed. […]
Pizza Bianca with Garlic and Rosemary
The view from here is the Olympic Mountaintops in the dense clouds hanging low over the Puget Sound. Whidbey Island Fort Casey is where I meet annually with my inimitable MFA cohort–an arts colony people like none other, huzzah. Because I am surrounded by lovely words and those who live in whirlwinds to both consume […]
Pebbled Persian Bread
To my wonderful inlaws in Ballard, Washington I brought this gift last night. While making the bread I had my doubts regarding the strange procedure—scorch the bottom of the dough on a skillet, broil the top in the oven–why? They appeared to be amoebic pancakes, sprung to life from wet, primordial dough. And yet, viola, […]
Coffeecake in Lattice with Sweet Cheese Filling
Izzy has been exhibiting more dread and disgust than usual regarding my trip to the Northwest today. She said if I could manage to carry 25 pounds of bread flour in my carry-on, surely I could carry an extra 80 pounds of bulldog. I reminded her that I am not travelling with baking supplies, that […]
Soft Pretzels
Considering these are pretzels, not dessert, not a fine loaf with a crackling crust, but pretzels, I’d say the labor to pleasure ratio is a bit too high for me to want to repeat. They are great to dip in pizza marinara, the dough is very similar to the bagels of yesterday. But so much […]