With Thanksgiving quickly approaching and Hanukkah and Christmas following close on its heels, I want to tell you about a wonderful new book. 30 Breads to Bake Before You Die (Amazon Affiliate Link) is the second book from Allyson Reedy.
30 Breads to Bake Before You Die by Allyson Reedy
As a fabulous perk of writing about food I’m occasionally sent new cookbooks to review. This is one on those books. Because we’re always on the move I had it sent to our son and DIL’s home, knowing we would be with them this month. I was so thrilled to finally get to South Carolina to read this new book that I feel is a must buy for all of you carb lovers out there!
30 Breads to Bake Before You Die
The full title of Allyson Reedy’s new book is 30 Breads to Bake Before You Die: The World’s Best Sourdough, Croissants, Focaccia, Bagels, Pita, and More from Your Favorite Bakers (Including Dominique Ansel, Duff Goldman, and Deb Perelman. Right off the bat you know that this is a bread book for people who really, really love bread in all its wondrous forms. But it is also for those of you who also might be overwhelmed by the process of baking bread at home.
This book is filled with recipes, tips, and tricks that come from expert dough workers and bread magicians who’ve put in the hours of kneading, proofing, stretching, folding, and baking to perfect these recipes. After reading this book I’m ready to bake my way through some of the most mouthwatering bread recipes, and should too!
The recipes
Maple Salt and Pepper Bagels
Between the covers of 30 Breads to Bake Before You Die you’ll find Beginner’s Sourdough from Maurizio Leo (@theperfectloaf), Focaccia from Joanne Chang (Flour Bakery), Bagels from Call Your Mother Deli, Croissants from Dominique Ansel, Ultimate Dinner Rolls from Tessa Arias (@Handletheheat), Matzah from Duff Goldman, Baguette from Shawn Bergin (Bakery Four), Pita from Alon Shaya and much, much more!
Who is this book for?
“This book is written for anyone who is intimidated by the word ‘starter,’ and who think levain is just a bakery that makes really good cookies,” author Allyson Reedy says. “People who really love bread, but who may not know exactly where to start when it comes to baking it themselves. People like me.” Reedy, a Denver-based restaurant critic and food writer, admits her bread baking skills are also at a novice-level. “This is my first time mixing together water and flour and expecting magic—which is to say, my first time making my own sourdough starter,” she says. “But luckily the experts who gave us these recipes know what they’re doing. We’re in good hands with their tested, dialed-in recipes—and I’m here to translate their weird bread-baking jargon like ‘autolyze’ into understandable terms.”
Good bread takes time
The quickest recipe in 30 Breads to Bake Before You Die takes only 30 minutes. That is certainly a jiffy compared to the 3 daylong process of making a demi-baguette which really takes eight days if you factor in the time it takes to create its starter. But don’t freak out, most of the recipes take several hours, if not a couple of days. Reedy explains. “Here’s what you already know, or what you’re about to know: It’s worth it. It’s worth waiting for the flour’s friendly bacteria to pop up and say hello, for the yeast to get nice and bubbly, for the dough to truly double in size, and for your loaf to fully cool and set before slicing… Okay maybe that last one is asking too much!” When time is of the essence, who has time for the third best bagel recipe or just so-so sourdough? Not any of us! So bake up these awesome, delicious and accessible breads now. Before you die.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Cookbook author Allyson Reedy
Allyson Reedy is a self described carb loving food writer and restaurant critic in Denver, Colorado. When she’s not taste-testing or checking out new restaurants for a story, she’s probably tripping over her precious pug in her home kitchen while stressing over sourdough. If you would like to read more from Allysiband bake up killer desserts check out 50 Things to Bake Before You Die: The World’s Best Cakes, Pies, Brownies, Cookies, and More from Your Favorite Bakers, Including Christina Tosi, Joanne Chang, and Dominique Ansel (Amazon Affiliate Link). Be sure to follow her on Instagram (@allysoneatsden).
30 Breads to Bake Before You Die by Allyson Reedy
To temp you more here’s Marcus Samuelsson’s recipe for Teff Biscuits from his Hav and Mar restaurant in New York, NY.
Print
Teff Biscuits
Yes, this recipe mixes flour and teff—a grain from Marcus Samuelsson’s native Ethiopia—into the all-purpose and cake flour mixture. But make no mistake about it, these are the southern-style, super-flaky, buttery biscuits you already know and love. They’re just made even better with that nutty pop from the teff. Whipped up in under an hour, this recipe gifts us the genius tip of grating the butter into the flour, resulting in just the right size of butter shavings without having to overwork the dough. (In the oven, those little butter shavings puff up, creating those coveted flaky layers.) Slather them up with butter, honey, and/or jam for the ultimate comfort carb.
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 9 biscuits 1x
Ingredients
6 grams teff grains
25 grams teff flour
244 grams all-purpose flour
275 grams cake flour, plus more to roll out dough
19 grams baking powder
9 grams salt
65 grams granulated sugar
1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold
350 grams (about 1 1/2 cups) buttermilk, cold
1/4 quart (1 cup) heavy cream, cold
Instructions
Special equipment:
silicone bench scraper
- Sift all dry ingredients (teff grains, teff flour, all-purpose flour, cake flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar) together into a large bowl. Grate the butter into the mix.
- Mix butter by hand into dry ingredients. Next, make a funnel in the middle and pour in buttermilk and heavy cream. Using a silicone bench scraper, fold dry into wet ingredients until everything is well incorporated.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Use cake flour to flour a large, flat surface. Flip over biscuit mix onto floured surface and sift more cake flour on top of mix. Using a rolling pin, gently press down
and mix your biscuit dough, rolling it into a rectangle about 1 1/2 inches thick.
- Using a 23⁄4-inch biscuit cutter (or an empty can, bench scraper, or knife), cut out your biscuits, cutting them close to one another. Place biscuits about an inch apart on a baking sheet. (Feel free to re-roll your dough to get even more biscuits!)
- Bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until tops are lightly golden. Serve warm.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Ethiopian/American
Disclaimer: This post includes affiliate links, and I will earn a commission if you purchase through these links. Please note that I’ve linked to these products purely because I recommend them and they are from companies I trust. There is no extra cost to you when you purchase through my links.
Disclaimer: This item was sent to me to review. But the opinions expressed are 100% my own.
