From the monthly archives:

September 2008

Pan Dulce

September 27, 2008

I was just thinking that this morning was one of those mornings where I feel like I’ve been struck by a train for no reason at all. I was just thinking that this morning was one of those mornings that can only be healed with two things, sweet bread and milky, sugared coffee. I seem [...]

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Sourdough Pancakes

September 24, 2008

Praise the heavens! These pancakes were two weeks in the making. And it all started with.. well.. forgive me.. a starter. It turns out that a sourdough starter, a mixture of flour, water, bacteria and yeast, makes some pretty stellar pancakes. The cakes came out slightly thin, nicely browned and light as air. The starter [...]

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Sourdough Pancakes Part One

September 22, 2008

This Sourdough Starter project is turning out to be an ordeal. I don’t think it’s the starters fault. It’s only a simple mixture of flour and water. I think the ordeal came in when I became mostly obsessed with my starter. See, I took my starter out of the fridge yesterday to feed it, and [...]

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Joy the Baker Classic

September 19, 2008

Let’s turn the clocks back to the beginning of Joy the Baker. This extra dreamy lemon pound cake was one of my very first Joy the Baker posts. I nabbed a friend’s fancy camera and after a 15 minute crash course, started baking and shooting my favorite pound cake recipe. Those were the humble beginnings [...]

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Joy the Baker is Digging Deep

September 14, 2008

Joy the Baker has gone off the deep end a bit. My schedule for the next week is simply beyond what I can even comprehend. I need a body/baking double. Right now I’m dealing with the stress by madly pacing my house and shoving handfuls of Reese’s Pieces into my face. I wish one [...]

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Sourdough Starter Day 4 and Day 5

September 13, 2008

We’re still talking sourdough starter! Need to catch up!? Here’s Sourdough Starter Day 1 and Sourdough Starter Day 2 and 3! Mine seems to be happy and growing. It might almost be time to preheat the griddle for those pancakes. Jump on over and see the results of days of flour, water and bacteria.

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Easy Cinnamon Roll Muffins

September 12, 2008

Just the thought of cinnamon rolls- warm, gooey, soft, sweet- makes me literally swoon. I love them. If I were a baking superhero (I’m working on it) my weakness would be cinnamon rolls. As much as I love the little devils (and I hate to say this) I hate to bake them. The problem is [...]

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Sourdough Starter Day 2 and Day 3

September 11, 2008

Now we’re cookin’! Above is Day 2 of the sourdough starter. You can see a layer of yellowish liquid running through the starter. That’s the hooch. I just stirred the starter well before its feeding. Below is Day 3 of the “situation starter”. Now it’s starting to get going. I’m totally excited! It [...]

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Sourdough Starter Day 1

September 10, 2008

After a swift 24 hours of sitting on my counter with the lid ajar, here are the (less than exciting) photographic results of my sourdough starter. This is the starter just before it’s first feeding. I know this isn’t terribly exciting. I promise I’ve got some lovely recipes in store for you. [...]

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Start Your Starters!

September 9, 2008

I’m off on a baking adventure and I want you to come along. All you’ll need is a cup of flour and a cup of water. Want to play? We’re making sourdough starters. All they needs is a little attention and feeding and we’ve got starter enough for loaves, pancakes and rolls week [...]

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Learn To Love Your Cast Iron Skillet

September 7, 2008

I mentioned last week how dear my cast iron skillet is to me. I’ll let you in on a little secret. When I’m not eating the ridiculous baked goods that come out of my oven, I’m eating eggs. Eggs inside of fried corn tortillas. I eat eggs because, as a baker, I always have eggs [...]

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Surfas Restaurant Supply,Gourmet Food and Commercial Kitchen Design

September 4, 2008

Just like heaven. I love Surfas Restaurant Supply and Gourmet Food Market. With their seemingly endless shelves of sprinkles, funky Italian pasta, and variety of fancy rolling pins, I could easily spend 4 hours and $4,000 dollars here. Luckily, Surfas is across a treacherous amount of Los Angeles traffic, so my urge to bust out [...]

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Honey Roasted Plums with Fresh Thyme and Greek Yogurt

September 1, 2008

Delicious! Delicious! Delicious! I was lucky enough to have a holiday weekend free from hurricane winds and rain. My prayers go out to those of you who had to put up with that madness from Mother Nature. I spent a lovely amount of time in a bathing suit and miraculously managed to make an absolutely [...]

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