Dough

Homemade Yeast Doughnuts

August 19, 2011 by Charles 13 Comments

This has been quite the whirlwind week.

Once again, I’m preparing to move: this time from Cincinnati, Ohio to Silver Spring, Maryland. This past week has been devoted to finishing up my projects at work and cleaning and packing up my apartment. But in between those two activities, I have been doing my best to take advantage of my last few days in Cincinnati.

Last Tuesday night, I drove to Mt. Adams, the neighborhood overlooking downtown Cincinnati from its eastern perch. I got lost navigating the winding one-way streets, as always, but eventually found a narrow street sandwiched between two apartment buildings and leading up to the edge of the Mount.

I unpacked my camera, set up my tripod, and took in the lights…

Ina Garten’s Perfect Pie Crust

October 6, 2009 by Charles 4 Comments

As with any recipe by Ina Garten, the question is not whether the dish will be great: it will be. Rather, the question usually is: “How much butter can I leave out, and still have a great dish?”

In this case, Ina called for twelve tablespoons of butter, which struck me as a bit much. I consulted my Cooking Light Dessert book, and found a nearly identical recipe, calling for six tablespoons. Being my judicious self, I simply…

Brioche Loaves

June 4, 2009 by Charles 11 Comments

From a Croque Norvegien to an ABB&M, I’ve been in sandwich mode recently. Which got me thinking. Instead of running out and grabbing a new loaf of bread, maybe I could make my own.

I settled on brioche, a butter- and egg-enriched yeast bread, French in origin. Yet, despite its French origins, the French put their brioche in the viennoiserie basket. Unlike something in the bread basket, a viennoiserie (meaning “in the Viennese style”) boasts the addition of eggs, butter, milk, cream, or sugar, which gives it a pastry-like character.

Viennoiseries are leavened, often layered, and commonly served in the morning. Beyond brioche, …