Bread

I like different types of bread, but I have a lot of memories associated with bagels.

The first time I was introduced to bagel was when I was home-staying at a Californian family as part of the summer ESL (English as a Second Language) program of the college I was attending in Japan.

I went to ESL class at church while staying at one of the church members’ house for about a month.

I still remember how delicious it tasted the first time I tried bagel smeared with a thick layer of cream cheese.

Since I liked it so much that my host family would make sure they had bagels every morning for my breakfast.

I was 19 at that time.

Who knew I would be back in the U.S. and baking bagels myself later in my life.

Seed bagles: black sesame, white sesame, hemp seeds.

Okay.

Here was my sourdough 2b.

I forgot to swap some of the flour with whole wheat flour, but this turned out delicious as well.

Maybe it is a good thing to experiment with different ingredients and flour-water ratio.

I just love how sourdough bread looks.

I don’t know why that is, but the rustic beauty is so appealing to me

Here is my second attempt at baking sourdough bread.

This one is “Number 2a.”

It’s “2a” because I baked another loaf at the same time (so the other one is 2b).

I added turmeric per my hubby’s request, and it definitely shows its color.

I’m still so in love with this rustic look of sourdough.

Now you can really see the beautiful golden color.

I was interested in sourdough bread, and when Tartine bakery published their bread book, I was so close to trying it.

But then it took me almost a decade before I finally made my own sourdough starter.

(I didn’t use Tartine’s instructions for my starter or bread; Ten years ago I was able to look at the book from the libary after waiting for a couple of months, but their instructions werer too long and too overwhelming to me.)

If you are thinking about it, do it.

It’s not as hard as you think, and the whole experience from raising my baby starter to actually baking bread has been so amazing.

Another creation with my sourdough starter.

Focaccia!

Rosemary is the thing for focaccia, but making this was a last minute decision, and I only had thyme, so that’s what was used.

I also sprinkled dried cranberries (because that’s what I had).

This turned out great!

A bit puffier than expected.

Or maybe expected because I didn’t have enough bread flour so I had to use a-p flour for the 3/4 amount.

Personally I don’t mind this texture.

It was delicious nonetheless with the wonderful sourdough flavor.

This will make great sandwiches.

Making bread with homemade yeast water was another thing on my list for a long time, and I finally decided to give it a try.

You can use pretty much any kind of fruits (or so I hear), but I chose raisins, as they seem to be the most popular.

You don’t hear much about this technique in the U.S., but making yeast water with fruit is quite popular in Japan.

Basically, you ferment raisins in water for a week or so until it creates yeast.

I’m so mad at myself for forgetting to take a picture before removing the raisins.

But this is the final result, my first yeast water.

My first bread made with yeast water turned out great.

These are so soft and flavorful.

They do not have strong raisin taste or smell, but definitely have some fruity aroma, which I found unique and pleasant.

I saw an Italian restaurant making something like this when I was watching a show on Food Network.

I didn’t have time to write down the ingredients or how to make them, but I kind of got the idea.

I thought it would be great to enjoy it as dipping oil for my sourdough bread.

I just sliced the bread and cut them into smaller pieces.

Doesn’t this look good?!

Garlic Tomato Oil: Cook sliced garlic (from a whole) in olive oil, add crashed tomatoes from a can, agave syrup, salt, crushed red pepper, and more olive oil.

I’m beyond excited!!

My first sourdough bread turned out amazing.

I didn’t know what to expect, but not this.

Professional bakers may have a different opinion, but this was pretty perfect to me.

It’s weird to say it, but I was ready to face something close to a failure as my first attempt, probably because I had this idea that sourdough bread is something only professional bakers can create.

This was exactly what I wanted to see inside too.

I also loved its texture and flavor unique to sourdough bread.