Category Archives: Italian Baker

No, We can’t order pizza out…

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Ugh. I get so tired of the cost of pizza out, although, I must admit to loving Anthony’s Coal-fired Pizza here in Weston, and now we’ve got Pizza Fusion, a very cool, all-green concept (and a good one: growing by leaps and bounds)…

So when Bryn asked for pizza ordered in the other night, I just said NO. Let’s make it. For pennies. I used Carole Bloom’s Italian Baker book, which I’ve mentioned before. This is a nice recipe, easy to do within a couple of hours. I had some San Marzano tomatoes. Unfortunately I didn’t have any mozzarella. I dug out a bit of grated cheddar and I always have parm, so I got some freshly grated action going there…Easy.

For the second pie, I went for the focaccia–rolled it out, brushed it with oil and sprinkled it with great sea salt, fresh rosemary, black pepper and more freshly grated parmesan…Oh, I almost forgot: my secret ingredient for any pizza–I whisk up some anchovy paste with great olive oil and I brush that on the crust before anything else gets there. Anyway, the plain bread with olive oil and herbs disappeared it was that loved.

For the REALLY great news? The pizza stone I thought I MUST have left in the oven of the old apartment? I found it in the garage. I am so happy–it’s now at home in the oven, where it will stay until we move again..

Bread Like Sam’s

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After making pizza after pizza the other day, I browsed the same book, Carol Field’s Italian Baker, and found a recipe I made a lot for a little while..Pane Pugliese. This recipe reminds me of the bread you get at Sam’s Italian Market in Willow Grove, PA, a bit north of Philadelphia, near the PA Turnpike. Sam’s is an incredible Italian grocery in a suburban blank spot (my opinion only; we lived and liked it near there for six years…Sam’s was one thing that helped us like it) and the bread that place turned out: moist, dense, full of flavor. Flavorful, in fact.

So my penciled notes from way back when(date: 3/23/92. Sam was not even 4, Ian just 2 1/2, Bryn not even a thought) say, “Great texture, moist. Reminds me of Sam’s. Relatively easy, slightly messy (sticky).”

All true.

Like the pizza, I did have a strike…well, not a strike so much as a fire in the oven…With the first batch of bread yesterday. So here’s what happened: I use an oven thermometer. Oven was at 450. I put in the loaves, ran to pick Bryn up and got back to a…very toasty smell, shall we say? The oven thermometer was reading 550. The third loaf, the one that was on the lower rack? A blackened door stop. A large piece of charcoal. The parchment paper? Gone. I can only guess it self-combusted (oh, I know, nothing self about it!)…Luckily, the two loaves on the top shelf seemed okay…

The little loaves went fast. I had promised one to a friend, and the rest barely made appetizers for this family.

So today, I wanted more. I did only two loaves (same recipe, bigger loaves) and baked both on the top rack. All went well. But oddly enough, the oven was registering 550 when I took the loaves out. Weird, but worth watching.

Anyway, this bread is every bit as good as I remember it. This is a loaf made with a “biga” or starter, which is what I think gives it its texture.

Every time I make bread, I wonder why I don’t do it more often. I own a Kitchenaid. The flour
costs pennies. And homemade bread? This is real food.


Bread Like Sam’s

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After making pizza after pizza the other day, I browsed the same book, Carol Field’s Italian Baker, and found a recipe I made a lot for a little while..Pane Pugliese. This recipe reminds me of the bread you get at Sam’s Italian Market in Willow Grove, PA, a bit north of Philadelphia, near the PA Turnpike. Sam’s is an incredible Italian grocery in a suburban blank spot (my opinion only; we lived and liked it near there for six years…Sam’s was one thing that helped us like it) and the bread that place turned out: moist, dense, full of flavor. Flavorful, in fact.

So my penciled notes from way back when(date: 3/23/92. Sam was not even 4, Ian just 2 1/2, Bryn not even a thought) say, “Great texture, moist. Reminds me of Sam’s. Relatively easy, slightly messy (sticky).”

All true.

Like the pizza, I did have a strike…well, not a strike so much as a fire in the oven…With the first batch of bread yesterday. So here’s what happened: I use an oven thermometer. Oven was at 450. I put in the loaves, ran to pick Bryn up and got back to a…very toasty smell, shall we say? The oven thermometer was reading 550. The third loaf, the one that was on the lower rack? A blackened door stop. A large piece of charcoal. The parchment paper? Gone. I can only guess it self-combusted (oh, I know, nothing self about it!)…Luckily, the two loaves on the top shelf seemed okay…

The little loaves went fast. I had promised one to a friend, and the rest barely made appetizers for this family.

So today, I wanted more. I did only two loaves (same recipe, bigger loaves) and baked both on the top rack. All went well. But oddly enough, the oven was registering 550 when I took the loaves out. Weird, but worth watching.

Anyway, this bread is every bit as good as I remember it. This is a loaf made with a “biga” or starter, which is what I think gives it its texture.

Every time I make bread, I wonder why I don’t do it more often. I own a Kitchenaid. The flour
costs pennies. And homemade bread? This is real food.