homemade pita

Making pita is like magic (recipe from the NYT)! You put these flat little circles of dough onto a very hot baking stone and two minutes later, they’ve puffed up into beautiful, hollow balls! We ate these with a delicious beetroot dip from Ottolenghi and Tamimi’s “Jerusalem” cookbook. Both are highly recommended!

focaccia

This was my second time making focaccia from Claire Saffitz’s excellent “Dessert Person” cookbook. I again topped it with fresh rosemary, garlic, olive oil, and flaky salt.

The only problem with this recipe is that this giant slab of focaccia is half of the recipe… and we’re inclined to eat a whole half in one day. No one’s watching, I suppose, but can this be good in the long term?

superlative apple pie

This recipe is a two-day endeavor. You will use just about every dish possible in the kitchen for you 520 square foot San Francisco apartment. You will wonder if it really needs as many rests in the refrigerator as Rose Levy Beranbaum indicates. But if you stick to the program and measure diligently, following the directions carefully, you will have the best dessert imaginable for a Christmas evening spent watching Les Demoiselles de Rochefort while enjoying a hot cup of spiced cider. “The Baking Bible” has become a true reference text for me; I bought a used copy at Green Apple Books and I think I may need to buy another by the end of the decade as, stout as it may be, no book could possible stand up to the use I’m putting it to! Run, don’t walk, to the bookstore to get a copy of this book so you, too, can enjoy apple pie like you’ve never had before.

tarte tatin

This tarte tatin is the best tarte tatin I’ve ever eaten. If you’re not familiar with the dish, it’s an upside-down apple pie. You burnish the apples in the oven until they’re just softened, meanwhile preparing a caramel with the apple juices and apple cider (and brandy!). Then rearrange the apples in an oven-proof pan with the caramel on the bottom; cover with puff pastry and bake until crispy and delicious, the apples are tender and sticky, having released their juices into the apple-caramel sauce that ends up dripping down on top after you’ve flipped it over onto a large plate. Thanks go to Claire Saffitz’s “Dessert Person” for the excellent recipe with clear and easy-to-follow steps.

sweet potato pie

This sweet potato pie is smooth and creamy, and bakes up like a dream. The flavor is excellent, even if my crust is not. The pie recipe itself come from the Bay Area’s own Tanya Holland, which I got from her excellent cookbook “Brown Sugar Kitchen: New-Style, Down-Home Recipes from Sweet West Oakland”. This recipe alone makes the purchase worth it, but her pecan breakfast rolls are an absolute delight, as are her sweet potato scones. If you ever thought you couldn’t make scones, let Chef Holland teach you how!

sourdough loaves

This is my standard sourdough recipe that I got back in March 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic when everyone started making sourdough. I bought my starter and banneton from one of my favorite San Francisco bakeries, Thorough Bread and Pastry. They included a recipe that has never failed me.

In the foreground, a boule made with the banneton. In the background, a standard loaf baked in a tin. It’s not as impressive to look at, but it’s a lot more convenient to eat!

challah with a twist*

You know challah - that warm, tender loaf that your (neighbor’s) mother served to you on Shabbos night. Or if you were lucky, maybe you had it the day after made into French toast. The principal is simple: flour, salt, water, year, egg, oil, sugar, and sesame (or poppy seeds). We used to make it over the holidays, dividing the dough and tinting one third red, one third green, and leaving the other au naturel. It was our interfaith wedding over Jewish and Christian celebrations.

No need for food color in this loaf, which Claire Saffitz infuses with honey and tahini, lending it a warm, nutty note. The dough rises like gangbusters, probably due to the honey, and the resulting loaf is that same tender, soft, sweet trip down memory lane. Take a look at her “Dessert Person” cookbook for the recipe.

*See what I did there?