Savory Cheese Pastry | Banitsa. BULGARIA, EUROPE
Bulgarians serve this vegetarian cheese pastry room temperature or cold with plain yogurt on the side. Add spinach for a healthy variation.
Ham and Cheese Bread | Prisnats. EUROPE
Breakfasty, bready prisnats are great comfort food. You’ll want to cut the ham smaller or add more flour so the little pieces won’t sink to the bottom. Enjoy warm!
Cardamom Sweet Bread | Pulla. EUROPE, FINLAND
Pulla is the ultimate Finnish bread dough. Pulla always tastes of glorious cardamom.
Rye Bread. BELARUS, EUROPE
A nice, dense crumb, with a mild rye flavor. The sugar and honey make this loaf wonderfully addictive.
Artisan French Bread (or diary of a bread-aholic). EUROPE, FRANCE
Flavor: Mixing the yeast with a little flour and water ahead of time gives a big flavor boost. This is called a poolish or preferment. Slow and cool yeast development is the secret to good flavor. Texture: Achieving a soft interior and thin, shattering crust. You do this by adding moisture while baking and using steady, high heat. A spray bottle and baking stone are the best we can do in our homes.