BBA Challenge Archives - Pinch My Salt

Back to My Roots: Sourdough

Nicole — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 22:29:27 +0000

I recently returned from a 10-day trip to Oregon. Three of those days were spent in Portland with a fun and inspiring group of food writers and photographers, the rest were spent between Eugene and Florence, where I spent some time with my ex-husband’s family who I’m grateful have decided to keep me in their...

Bread Baker’s Apprentice Challenge: Panettone

Nicole — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 21:20:47 +0000

I’m sad to report that I have now had my very first failure in the Bread Baker’s Apprentice Challenge. I’ve made mistakes and had a few problems with some of the earlier breads, but they all managed to pull through and turn out pretty great. Then I met Panettone. Panettone is a traditional Italian Christmas...

Bread Baker’s Apprentice Challenge: Pane Siciliano

Nicole — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 09:50:47 +0000

I have been looking forward to this Pane Siciliano for months, but for some reason just couldn’t get it started. Perhaps it was the knowledge that this particular bread takes three days to complete. Even though I knew that most of the allotted time would be dedicated to waiting for the dough to ferment and...

Bread Baker’s Apprentice Challenge: Pain de Campagne

Nicole — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 09:50:52 +0000

With this bread complete, I’ve officially passed the halfway mark in The Bread Baker’s Apprentice Challenge. I’ve now baked the first 22 of the 43 breads in the book and I’m fairly confident that I will make it through the second half by the end of this year. I really can’t believe it’s been over...

Bread Baker’s Apprentice Challenge: Pain à l’Ancienne

Nicole — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 10:00:02 +0000

This seems to be one of the most talked about breads from The Bread Baker’s Apprentice and I’ve been looking forward to giving it a try since first starting the challenge. While I’ve read plenty of rave reviews of this bread over the years, I was attracted to pain à l’ancienne for a couple of...

Bread Baker’s Apprentice Challenge: Multigrain Bread Extraordinaire

Nicole — Mon, 31 May 2010 10:00:36 +0000

Continuing on with the Bread Baker’s Apprentice Challenge, I have reached the 20th bread in the book – Multigrain Bread Extraordinaire. The name makes me laugh, but this bread truly is extraordinary. It has a moist and chewy crumb that will stand up to just about any sandwich filling you can dream up, but it’s...

Bread Baker’s Apprentice Challenge: Marbled Rye

Nicole — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 23:28:49 +0000

It’s taking longer than I anticipated, but I’m still plugging away at The Bread Baker’s Apprentice Challenge and enjoying every minute of it. With the completion of this gorgeous Marbled Rye, I’ve mixed, kneaded, shaped, photographed, tasted, and shared the first 19 breads in the book. Each successful loaf feels like a huge accomplishment, but...

Bread Baker’s Apprentice Challenge: Light Wheat Bread

Nicole — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 22:28:36 +0000

This soft, light sandwich loaf is the 18th bread I’ve baked for The Bread Baker’s Apprentice Challenge. Yes, I’m slowly but surely plowing through the book, and although there are still 28 breads ahead of me, I am confident I will finish the book…eventually! Mr. Reinhart’s Light Wheat Bread was definitely a crowd pleaser –...

Bread Baker’s Apprentice Challenge: Lavash Crackers

Nicole — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 23:58:13 +0000

Flatbread is the star of this week’s Bread Baker’s Apprentice Challenge post, and these lavash crackers were fun and easy to make, beautiful to look at, and absolutely delicious. I have tasted the soft version of lavash before, but was completely unfamiliar with crackers like these. The dough is very similar to pita dough, but...

Bread Baker’s Apprentice Challenge: Kaiser Rolls

Nicole — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 18:25:19 +0000

We’re back to the Bread Baker’s Apprentice Challenge! Today I’m sharing my experience with the 16th bread in the challenge: Kaiser Rolls. I enjoyed these rolls so much I’ve made them twice already! Like many of the breads in the book, these rolls do take two days to make, but they aren’t difficult and I...