Sweet Tooth Haven

Homemade Pita

Today I used dough for the European Peasant Bread recipe in Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day and made small individual sized pitas (also in the book).  I used balls of dough a bit smaller than golf balls rolled out to 1/8 inch thick.  They were in the 500-degree oven on a cast iron pizza pan for 3-4 minutes and puffed up like crazy. 

Taste Book

I have a binder I use to I keep all my recipes that I've gathered from varied sources, but it's a mess.  For ages I've been planning to clean it out, organize it, and actually make it usable.  Now I've found Taste Book and I'm motivated to get started. 

Taste Book lets you custom make your own recipe book.  You pick the name and cover.  They are partnered with Epicurious, a fabulous site with tested recipes from Bon Appetit and Gourmet magazines.  Each cookbook comes with 100 recipes you choose from their collection using a simple drag and drop.  You can also add your own personal recipes.  The books are designed like binders so you can add to them or change things in the future. 

This would also make a great wedding or housewarming gift.  You can start the book with some of your favorites and let them fill it with their own.

Create a personal cookbook and save $10 at TasteBook.com

King Arthur Flour

Why do I love King Arthur Flour?  Let my count the ways:

1. The catalog.  I drool over this like some people do the Victoria Secrets catalog.  They have fantastic baking gadgets and tools.
2. The recipes.  Their recipe collection is extensive and has never failed me.  Everything on it has been tested.
3. Baking mixes.  From scones to pet treats.  Tastes like you made it from scratch.  You can tell everyone you did.  After all you did have to add things like eggs and water to the mix.  You had to put it in the oven.  My favorite is the crumbcake.
4. Free classes.  If you live in or near Vermont I envy you.  The rest of us can enjoy a class when they come to our neighborhood.  Which isn't often enough. Or check out online classes.
5. The Baking Circle.  Join this message board and if you ever, ever have a question about baking.  Ask.  You will be answered.  Also get special offers via email.
6. The company is employee owned.  Nice to see in a world were everything is becoming owned by mega corporations.
7. I only use their flour.  Mostly I use all-purpose unbleached.  I want to start using more of the white whole wheat.  Check out the variety.  They are even starting to sell more organic products.
8. They have fabulous cookbooks.  Of course they're more like baking books, but what do you expect from a flour company.  Buy them from KAF's website, or buy them from Amazon.

Are those enough reasons? If you haven't been to their website or received their catalog, why not?  I've given you enough links.  I also put them in my side bar.