Baking Bread. Tomato and Bread Soup. Water.

Blog Post & Recipe: Tuscan Tomato and Bread Soup

Pappa al pomodore loosely translated means mushy tomato soup .This thick stew-like soup is a staple in the Tuscan region, where the typical Italian housewife usually threw the soup together to use up any leftover bread - it was not something that was served to guests.

Article: Tap or spring water in recipes?

Every once in a while you run across a recipe that specifies spring water or bottled water instead of tap, usually because the recipe has very few ingredients and the flavor - or lack of flavor - of the water will be perceived in the finished product. Traditional breads, such as sourdough, are made from only flour, water, salt and yeast. So, if your tap water contains enough chlorine for you to smell it, it could, in theory, affect the taste of the bread. If, on the other hand, you cannot smell the presence of chlorine in your tap water, there's no reason not to use it.

Article & Recipes: One dough equals three delicious treats

If you want to try your hand at baking bread, it's important to understand a few fundamentals. The structure of bread comes from the gluten (protein) in the flour. Since bread flour has more gluten than other varieties, it gives a stronger structure and thus is the first choice for bread baking. Don't try to use any other flour ...

Recipes included with this story: Orange Cardamon Sweet Rolls, Ordinary Bread (Pain Ordinaire), Roasted Garlic and Rosemary Bread Sticks, Carmelized Onion Pizza With Bacon and Thyme