Banana Feather Loaf

Welcome back! This month we made Rose's Banana Feather Loaf. Don't let the title fool you - this is not a quickbread that we all tend to immediately picture. Rather, this is a hearty, solid loaf of bread that makes great toast or sandwiches.

Sheryl, like many of us, had to get passed the idea of banana in a bread loaf, but was so thankful she did because this made a stunning and pleasing addition to her baking rotation. A great way to use up a ripe banana!

Vicki recalls the first time she made this banana feather loaf and would definitely make it again. Like the name says, she thought this texture and crumb absolutely light as a feather. It also makes great french toast!

Laura made this delicious (and deliciously dangerous) bread, too. Look at that crumb! Airy and fantastic, she'll also be putting this recipe into regular rotation.

Elle also recalled when she first made this recipe, and definitely wants to make again. This was a perfect bread to watch bake into a golden hue through the clear pyrex loaf dish.

Next month sees us making Carrot Bread - happy baking!

Potato Buttermilk Bread

Hi Bakers!

Not many of us were able to make the Potato Buttermilk bread  this month, so I think this may go on our makeup list. Fortunately, we had two bakers able to carve out some time and give us mouth-watering results of this fun, dark-crusted loaf.

Sheryl absolutely loved this bread and we can see why! It makes fantastic sandwiches and is a keeper recipe to make in future. She tried out dried buttermilk instead of liquid and thought it was a fine substitution for liquid since most of us don't keep buttermilk in our fridges regularly.

Laura also made the bread and gave this one a thumbs up! It turned out wonderful and although it begged to be devoured on the spot, she and her husband did manage to hold off and keep some for later.

Thank you bakers - on to the next round!

Pizza Dough

Welcome back, Bakers!

This month Pizza was the name of the game, and boy did everyone deliver. From the Alsatian to Margherita, the bakers had fun with different toppings.

Vicki topped hers with homemade marinara, basil, and parmesean. No one can disagree with the fantastic results - it looked (and tasted) absolutely scrumptious!

Catherine felt very cosmopolitan feasting on the Alsatian pizza. We can see why! With beautiful caramelized onions complementing gooey cheese and beautiful olives, this was a winner of a month for baking (and eating)!

Jeniffer really pulled out the stops this month and baked a stunning creation! With her own twist on the Alsatian onion pizza, these mini servings would have anyone asking for seconds, even thirds.

Sheryl gave us a fabulous history and background to the region where Alsatian comes from, along with showcasing her result. She also got to test out a new pizza stone with great success. As always, well done!

Laura made two versions of pizza for dinner with her husband and we were excited to hear that both earned rave reviews! Indeed, based on her photo they really look delicious.

Elle didn't have a chance to get the onion and gruyere for her pizza so she improvised with homemade pesto and topped with mozzarella cheese. Her family inhaled the results and enjoyed the lovely scents of baking pizza dough in the kitchen.

That's it for this month - happy baking!

Walnut Fougasse

Our list next saw us baking Rose's fragrant Walnut Fougasse. Cousin to the focaccia, this has the lovely additions of walnuts and walnut oil and is guaranteed to make your kitchen smell heavenly.

Jeniffer added lemon and sage to her bread, a combination that sounds wonderful! The slashes in her bread to resemble the traditional wheat sheaf add a great touch to this bake.

Vicki also could note the resemblance to focaccia and made a wonderfully dark-golden bread. To keep it from becoming too brown with baking, she smartly tented it with some foil. Her kitchen smelled like a french baker's all day long.

Elle left the chopped walnuts out of hers since the family generally doesn't like nuts in things, but the walnut oil alone was enough to give this bread a hint of rich nuttiness. It was a treat to eat!

Sheryl twice made this month's bread, finding that the texture was a bit difficult to work with and didn't seem to come out quite right. While she might not make this bread again, she definitely expanded her horizons and learned quite a bit about making different varieties of fougasse.

Catherine also would not list this on her favorite breads of all time, but was a trooper in finishing out the recipe and showing off her results. A fine specimen and wonderfully slashed in the traditional manner.

Great job this month, Bakers! Pizza upcoming!

Flaxseed Loaf

Flaxseeds are pretty amazing little sprinkles of nature. High in nutrients, by either grinding them into meal or cracking the buttery, golden seeds, it's much easier to release their omegas and other good-for-you bits. If you can't get your hands on pumpernickel flour (like a few of our bakers) then dark rye flour makes a good substitute.

Rose created this lovely recipe that has a good, earthy texture and loads of flavor!

Vicki took a back seat to this one and let her granddaughter and next-generation-Rose-baker take charge. This was her very first, start to finish loaf, and it was amazing! They enjoyed it with Irish butter and Irish cheese.

Jeniffer  decided to go a bit wild with her seed addition, adding in some beautiful chia seeds and sesame seeds. Instead of the loaf, she made some fabulous looking rolls and topped them with whole egg dill mayo, lettuce, egg, and carrot spirals.

Elle made hers on a rather hectic Sunday afternoon, but her loaf still came out nice (except it did stick rather vehemently to the pyrex dish). Her family enjoyed this healthful loaf as sandwiches, or in Elle's case, topped with a FitGirl recipe of artichoke, spinach, sourcream, and a bit of mozzarella.

Catherine made hers in a round loaf style, and doesn't it look like something you'd find in a top-notch bakery? She too thought the loaf's texture and flavor were a winning combination.

Patty felt the impatience of having to wait the full 2 hours for this loaf to cool down - but it was worth the wait! She's definitely putting this recipe in her baking rotation.

Laura got some serious oven spring for her loaf! A really nice-looking crumb, too. She agreed with Rose that this was a lively dough, and it turned into lovely bread.

Sheryl  wrote a lovely post on the healthy flaxseed bread. We completely agree that this is a fantastic sandwich-style loaf and what a way to blast your daily diet with some extra nutrients!


Great job, bakers! See you all next month.

Olive Bread

If you need to take a quick mental vacation to the Mediterranean, Rose's olive loaf is definitely a passport to sunshine, warmth, and most importantly, fantastic edibles.

Jeniffer faced every baker's nightmare - a misbehaving oven! Thankfully she kept her cool and saved the dough. It turned out fantastic, straight out of Food magazine. She topped her slices with raw and caramelized tomato with some herbs. What a scrumptious Sunday brunch.

Sheryl made an amazing loaf, filled with spices and gorgeous olives. She had some great tips of how she usually makes this bread and finds it's always a winner!

Vicki was delighted to find that this loaf was something she would happily order in a restaurant. It was also the first time she'd proved a bread in a towel-lined colander. A gentle hand was necessary to keep this delicate dough from deflating. Vicki was a pro and made a superb loaf.

Laura's loaf was devoured in seconds by her quilting friends. Not surprising as it looks wonderful! The chopped kalamata olives give it a great visual and texture.

Elle had a lot of fun making this lighter-than-air bread. She and both daughters were more than content to dip slices of this loaf into olive oil.

Levy's Real Jewish Rye Bread

Getting back into loaves after our foray into scones, the bakers tackled Rose's Rye bread, studded with aromatic caraway seeds. This loaf is recommended for anyone who wants an extraordinarily flavored bread with out of this world texture.

Sheryl  really outdid herself on this loaf. Absolutely stunning. We are always so happy to see her creations and be a part of our baking group! The rye bread took her out of her bread comfort zone with awesome results. She found yet another recipe to add to her rotation.

Laura's loaf has a fantastic looking crumb and such a beautiful shape! She was rightfully very proud of the shape and crunchy crust. Well done!

Elle was excited to bake this bread and wasn't phased by multiple trips to different grocery stores in order to procure the necessary flour and caraway seeds. She thought the taste was stunning and loved it topped with Irish butter and radishes.

 Vicki thought this bread far superior to any other rye bread she's sampled before. Although the crust was a little done, it still crackled beautifully and the inside looks delicious.




















Jeniffer, we are pleased to say, had her bread epiphany this month - what a stunning loaf! Her fellow bakers completely understand the euphoria that happens when a bread loaf comes together and produces something just magical. This bread was scrumptious both on its own, and toasted into gourmet additions to salad in thin, toasted pieces.

Happy baking everyone!