 Once I jumped on the sourdough bandwagon - I was not about to quit until I mastered the art of the perfect sourdough baguette.🥖😅 I was focused, determined and serious about becoming a successful sourdough baker. I baked so much sourdough - I felt like I made more baguettes I felt qualified to work at Subway.😅 Thank goodness that baguettes freeze well. Anyone need some homemade footlong baguettes for sandwiches?😅
I still have a lot to learn about the sourdough process but I also saw a big improvement between my first batch and my second. I adjusted the size of my baguettes in this recipe to make them a little bit bigger and longer than my first ones. I also used a steel for baking which proved to be a valuable tool in getting them crispy and golden brown on the outside and chewy and tender in the middle. I'm not here to choose favorites but if I had to rate my progress so far, I preferred this second recipe to my first batch.😉  Sourdough Baguettes - Second try 90 grams active sourdough starter 400 grams bread flour 270 grams warm water 8 grams salt
 Bake 25-30 minutes until golden brown.
Ciao!
0 Comments
 Happy New Year!!! It's a new year and along with that comes a whole new set of recipe experiments for your favorite food blogger. Some people make resolutions - I set new cooking expectations for myself.😂 So here we are in 2026 and I'm declaring that this will be the year that I finally conquer my fear of sourdough.😅🥖 I've been super hesitant to jump into the world of sourdough baking. My biggest fear was taking on the responsibility of feeding a starter. Some days I don't feel like I have enough time to feed myself - let alone a sourdough starter.🤣 Clearly my apprehension to sourdough had more to do with commitment issues than baking competence.😅  I only recently mustered up the courage to ask my sweet friend to share some of her sourdough starter with me so I could begin the process of learning to work with this new ingredient. To say that there was a learning curve, is a major understatement. 😅 My experience with yeast breads proved to be zero help in learning to work with sourdough. I decided to focus on baguettes when I first began my sourdough journey. I thought baguettes might be easier than making a traditional loaf - I was wrong.😆 This is the first of 3 sourdough baguette recipes that I made during what I'm now calling my experimental "sourdough week."🤣 I learned a lot about the how to (and not to) work with sourdough throughout the process.  I'll be posting 2 more of my sourdough experiments this week - one recipe with a sourdough/yeast combination and the other a sourdough + extra gluten recipe. As for today - this is the most simple and basic sourdough baguette recipe that I could find. (Which still took 2 full days to make by the way.😅) I certainly can't say that this was an easy recipe to make but there's also something deeply satisfying about making a bread that recipe this kind of investment of time. If you're a sourdough baker - you know what I mean.  Sourdough Baguettes 450 grams bread flour 280 grams water 100 grams active sourdough starter 15 grams salt For the flour dusting 80 grams bread flour 80 grams semolina
 If you are an experienced sourdough baker - I'd love to hear your tips and tricks for making baguettes. I have a lot to learn about the process and I'd love to hear what makes your sourdough extra special.
Ciao!  2025 was a quite a year: Thousands of photos shared, 142 recipes and over 70,000 of you stopped by to check out my little blog! All I can say is ... thank you! Thank you to each and every one of you who has taken the time to read my blog, leave me a comment, follow me on social media or signed up to receive my emails this year. I'm beyond grateful for my amazing and supportive blog community.☺️ You don't see ads on my recipe blog because my motivation to share my stories and recipes isn't to generate income through sponsors or marketing partnerships - it's YOU! Nothing warms my heart like hearing from a follower who has made one of my recipes. If I inspired even a few people to try a new recipe or a new ingredient in 2025 - my job here is done.😅  This is my last blog post for 2025 and I think it's only fitting that I leave you with one of my favorite, chocolatey, decadent and delicious desserts. My Christmas gift to you... Torta Caprese ... recipe.😅 (That I ate.🤣) I'm not sure if it's appropriate to eat the gift that I give to someone else but in this case - let's call it market research. I fully enjoyed every bite of this chocolate torte and it gets bonus points because it's also gluten free.  Torta Caprese 1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips 1 cup butter 5 eggs 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 cup sugar 1 1/2 cups almond flour 1 teaspoon vanilla
 Bake 40 minutes at 350 until puffed and top begins to crack. Cool completely in pan.   Decorate with whipped cream and fresh berries.  Until next year ... Ciao!
Last year we hosted Christmas in Georgia and I probably don't have to tell you that we had an abundance of delicious food and drinks. We're Italian - it's what we do. 😂🇮🇹 After we ate more than we probably should have, we spent the afternoon playing reindeer games.🦌 This year, we'll be hosting our family for Christmas again and I've got a pretty traditional Christmas menu planned but I also have a few new surprises up my sleeve too.😉 I am going to sneak in a couple new desserts for the family to taste test along with a festive Christmas punch. 🍾 This Christmas punch was originally planned as an adult beverage but it's equally delicious without the alcohol. (I know - I've tried it both ways.😂 ) So if you're looking for a new drink to serve at your holiday party this year - this is the recipe might be just what you're looking for.  Christmas Punch 5 cups (40 ounces) 100% cranberry juice 2 bottles very dry sparkling brut wine (750 ml bottles) 2 cups apple cider 1 ½ cups (12 ounces) ginger ale 1 ½ cups dark rum or brandy (12 ounces) 2 oranges thinly sliced into rounds 1 cup fresh cranberries  Pour cranberry juice, sparkling wine, apple cider, ginger ale, and rum into bowl or pitcher. Top with the orange slices and fresh cranberries.
Ciao! --- and Cheers.
 Stockings, reindeer, holly, candy canes, oh my. I've made so many Christmas cookies this week that I feel like I've gained 5 pound just from being surrounded by so much sugar.😅 Don't get me wrong - I love sugar cookies but there comes a point (typically after 7 or 8 hours of decorating) that I don't want to see another cookie for at least a week.😬    I love my job and I'm incredibly grateful that I have the ability to make cookies for other people but after a week of nothing but cookie decorating - even I need a sugar break. I can tell that I've eaten too many cookie mistakes when I start to crave salty snacks like pretzels and potato chips.😳😬  If I wasn't constantly surrounded by cookies, I'd like to believe that I'd make better food choices during the holidays.😂 The issue is that I don't have a lot of extra time this month and with broken cookies always on my counters, they end up being my quick and easy, go-to lunch.😬 So for all of us who've already eaten a few too many sweets this month and for everyone who just needs an alternative from all of the sugar - this blog recipe is for you. I made a few of these Pomegranate salads earlier this week to keep in my frig so I can grab them for a quick and easy lunch alternative to cookies.🥗🍪  Pomegranate Salad 10 ounces salad greens 1 apple, thinly sliced 1 avocado, thinly sliced 1 cup medium pomegranate seeds 1 cup pistachios 2/3 cup shaved Parmesan cheese Dressing 3 Tablespoons Persian lime olive oil 3 Tablespoons lemon vinegar
 Fill bowl with salad greens.  Top with apples, pistachios, avocado, pomegranate seeds, and parmesan cheese.  Drizzle with dressing before serving.
Ciao! |
