Those of us who bake bread at home are constantly looking for ways to utilize the excess bread starter. I personally believe that there should be no “discarding” of the starter. If you are in a good baking rhythm and the starter is mature and vigorous, there is no need to feed your starter daily, only […]

Summer is here.  Suddenly we notice the change in our taste — we crave lighter dishes, we see more vegetables in our fridge and on our plate, we sip iced drinks, and I don’t know about you, but I am just not in the mood for elaborate dinner cooking marathons. Summer laziness sets in. To […]

Bagels are one of my most favorite things to eat.  They are so versatile, so forgiving; they go with anything — from smoked white fish to jam — and never complain.  You can eat them by themselves just fine or slather with butter or cream cheese, and you’ve got yourself a meal. New York style […]

Finally, a batch of sauerkraut I can get behind. I think I finally figured out the perfect salt to cabbage ratio, and the air insulation in my pickling crock helped develop that amazing zest. No spices needed — cabbage has its own perfect punch…

If you are into bread baking, as I am, you probably know by now that finding the right kind of flour is a very important task.  Using predictable, good quality flour is key in getting predictable, good quality bread loaves day after day.  The task becomes doubly challenging if you are trying to stay away […]

Am I the only one constantly finding myself with a surplus of sauerkraut? Yeah, that’s how I know I am a crazy person. I love sauerkraut and make it at home all the time. Ever since I started reading on benefits of lacto-fermented (naturally pickled) foods and found out that sauerkraut stands a cut above […]

Gosh, I got so excited yesterday while typing up the 12-Kopeck Sugar Buns, that it put me in the next bout of cravings immediately — bagels.  Pfft, you may say, what’s so special about bagels? You can get them anywhere.  Well, that’s just the thing: first of all, there are no *good* bagels in 80 […]