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Baguettes

A bad baguette is about as bad as bread can get when it isn't Kleenex bread. There was a time when all you could buy in town tasted like towelling. Now baguettes are commonplace, we can be a bit more picky about our choice.The best - my opinion - are found at Wagshal's. Other people must think so too - they run out early. So phone and reserve. Firehooks' are okay, so are Marvelous Market's. Whole Foods baguettes are the least interesting, in my view.If you want to make your own, go to Vace and buy their 00 Italian flour.
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Breads - a good chew - 1 Jan 2012

Not so long ago, the only bread available in Washington came sliced in cellophane packages. Now you can't move for choice among breads studded with everything from olives to cheese. But where can you get a plain brown loaf? read more...

Bread flour unscrambled - 10 Feb 2011

Which flour bakes the best bread? First, know that a grain of wheat has three parts: the endosperm which is the central source of the starch, accounting for 85 percent of the grain. Next to it lies the germ, accounting for only 2 percent. But it's the most positive element. It's the 'seed' that grows new wheat plants and it contains most of the whole grain's protein, vitamins and oil. Plus, pretty much all the flavor lies in the germ. Both of these are covered by the protective outer layer of bran. read more...

Breakfasts - a good start - 20 Jan 2011

Mom always said you should start the day with a good breakfast. You know she's right. But if you can't face a bowl of cardboard-tasting, horsestall-looking granola, the nations of the world offer other options. And take a look at this week's blog for an update on whether a big (as opposed to your Mom's idea of a 'good') breakfast is such a good idea. read more...

Baguettes the French like - 2 Jun 2010

With grilling and picnic weather now in, a meal al fresco can be made or broken by your choice of bread. A bad baguette is almost as bad as that squish-flat-between-forefinger-and-thumb Kleenex bread. But there are some good ones around. read more...

Brioches - 18 Nov 2007

Brioches are a chef's toque-shaped French bun made from a sweet yeast dough made rich, yellow and fluffy with large amounts of eggs and butter. Make a breakfast change from croissants, try a brioche with good sweet butter and a fruity jam. read more...

Croissants - 18 Nov 2007

The French probably have the most seductive notion of breakfast - a good cup of coffee and a croissant. read more...

Chef Peter Smith is on the gin
The lunch shift is over and chef Peter Smith, owner of PS 7’s restaurant is surrounded by gin. No, he’s not relaxing over a drink. The gin is in bowls in an pre-formed state. It’s the mash, a mix of herbs and berries and peels and roots that Smith has worked out how to use in his food as flavorings.
Read Chef Profile...
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