Honey-soaked hot cross buns
The first time I heard of hot cross buns was during a piano lesson. It was early in my (very short) musical career, so I could only play songs that…
Bread recipes
Sweet cornmeal biscuits
A few weeks ago, I had a lovely lunch at Dovetail, an Upper West Side restaurant that serves what I would call creative comfort food. The meal was good but…
Cheese straws
Cookie season is in full swing and will be for at least another week (there are, after all, 12 days of Christmas). I enjoy sampling from tins filled with raspberry…
Hoecakes
Have you ever had a hoecake? On a Saturday in October, I found myself in Oxford, Mississippi and that’s what I had for breakfast—hoecakes. I was attending the 11th Annual…
Grandpa’s special pancakes
When I was little, I spent a lot of time at my grandparents’ house in the Dallas neighborhood of Oak Cliff. Sundays through Fridays, my grandmother ruled the kitchen. But…
Oatmeal bread and a case of the Januaries
I called my Grandma recently and asked how she was doing. With a sigh, she said she was suffering a case of the Januaries. “What’s that?” I asked. She replied…
Jalapeno-cheese bread
Raise your hand if you haven’t made no-knead bread yet. Yep, that’s what I thought—I’m the only one in the world who hasn’t baked this miracle of yeast, flour, and…
Mom’s ginger scones for Mother’s Day
Dear Mom, It’s Mother’s Day and unfortunately I couldn’t spend the day with you. But that doesn’t mean you’re not in my thoughts! Of course, as always, I’m a bit…
Everything’s better with biscuits
I make good biscuits. Are they the best biscuits? I have no idea. But I enjoy them and when others are around they seem to rapidly disappear. For instance, one…
Flour tortillas: an end to my quest
White bread was forbidden in my household as a child. We only ate whole-grain bread, the coarser, tougher and browner the better. I hated it. Especially since all the other…