Notes about Recipes in this book

• Whole wheat chapatis

  • eliza on February 23, 2017

    This is one of those recipes that just assumes you have a stand mixer, something that always irritates me! So I made these entirely by hand. The recipe calls for adding the flour to the just boiled water, and then transferring to said mixer for 4 minutes. Really, I probably wouldn't dirty a mixer for this anyway since it's so easy to knead this soft, pliable dough. I made a half recipe and made them quite a bit smaller than directed in the recipe (yield of 9 smaller tortillas). I used spelt flour for mine and flipped them a couple of times, not just the once called for. These are my first whole wheat tortillas, and they were pretty successful. I will definitely make these again.

  • jahqdruh on March 28, 2018

    This dough was sticky and for me required a lot of extra flour to handle, which gave the bread more of a floury taste than I like. The texture was good, though.

• Beef and potato curry (Alu-maunsho torkerry)

  • jahqdruh on March 28, 2018

    The curry was very nice. It had a nice heat that built up, and was filling due to the potatoes.

• Soft lavash

  • Anea25 on July 04, 2024

    I like the crackers a lot more, even though these were good, just not amazing.

• Hybrid injera

  • jahqdruh on April 22, 2019

    I have to say that the smell of the mixture didn't fill me with joy. Teff flour has a very, um, "distinctive" aroma that magnifies when you add water. However, the finished bread was lovely. The dough aged for 36 hours, which gave it a very strong sourness -- but it was 2/3 wheat flour and 1/3 teff, so it wasn't too sour. It offset the spiciness of the doro wat nicely.

• Braised cabbage and carrots

  • Yildiz100 on November 28, 2015

    My local grocery store has a buffet with food I just love. A lot of the staff is Ethiopian so many of the recipes show that influence. They do a cabbage dish that I love, (they call it curried cabbage) and I was hoping this would be a copycat. It did not disappoint! The recipe at the grocery store has no carrots. I think I prefer it that way because with the carrots it got be pretty sweet. Next time I'll omit or reduce them. Other than that, I needed a LOT more water, maybe three times as much. I also think I'd reduce the turmeric just a bit next time.

• Nan-e barbari

  • Zosia on June 04, 2016

    This is a very wet dough (88% hydration) which meant I had more luck "kneading" it with my paddle attachment and I wasn't aggressive enough in degassing it so my flatbreads weren't particularly flat. However, both flavour and texture were fantastic, with a thin, crisp crust, chewy crumb and a lovely nuttiness from the seed topping.

  • pistachiopeas on October 20, 2016

    Pretty good barbari recipe. Nigella seeds are essential.

  • anya_sf on September 03, 2018

    The dough was quite wet. I thought I had proofed it enough, but it stuck to my fingers as I tried to make the indentations, so they never stayed, and the bread puffed up and bubbled quite a bit. So it did not look like the picture, and the crumb was probably too open, but it did taste delicious. Next time I believe I should add more flour (the dough never did clean the insides of the bowl) and probably let it proof longer. I also might shape it on the counter, rather than parchment, as it stuck quite a bit to the parchment, which made it harder to stretch.

• Naan

  • anya_sf on September 24, 2018

    I scaled the recipe down and used the paddle to mix the dough. The dough was easy to make, but took quite a while to rise. I used my hands to carefully place the naan on the baking stone. I'm not sure how one would use a baking sheet for this, as the dough would stick to the sheet. It was also easy to flip the naan and remove them from the oven (again, very carefully) using my fingers. They were very tasty.

  • rm31knitter on May 25, 2020

    If you are using the recipe from the cookbook, it is not the same as the one on her blog. I made the recipe from the cookbook, and the dough was very stiff. It called for 1/4 c. of water, and 1 Tblsp. of ghee. The recipe on her blog was identical except for 1/2 c. water, and 7 Tblsps. of ghee!

• Pita

  • rach3190 on May 11, 2026

    This worked out pretty well, but the dough took a long time to come together, was very hard to roll out (bubbly and kept shrinking back) and wasn’t as good the next day. It’s been a very long time but my memory is that I liked the KAF recipe better, try it again soon to find out. That one has a bit of orange juice to balance the wheaty flavor too.

• Olive oil focaccia

  • Joyceeong on February 07, 2017

    This is a fantastic focaccia, with moist, soft crumb and very tasty. I've made half a recipe, baked in a 13x9-inch pan. The dough is pretty easy to work with. I did not use all of the water indicated, remaining a few tablespoons behind. Could be due to the high temperature and humidity in our weather (Malaysia), and most times when I make bread, I find that I do not need to use the full amount of water indicated in recipes. The final dough refused to fill the entire pan, so I have left it to rest for 10 minutes at 3 intervals before the whole pan was filled with the dough. There's a few flavour variations in the book, but I've made it plain, and had it as a sandwich with some sardine spread. I've made this twice already, my family love it. Will be making the topping with Potato and Rosemary on my next focaccia baking day.

  • KCKB on January 13, 2024

    I had high hopes for this recipe, but the dough did not come together the way the instructions indicated that it should. I had to add extra flour, and the final product, while tasty, was not as soft and fluffy as I hoped. I’ve had better luck with Jenn Segal’s recipe from Once Upon A Chef: Weeknight/Weekend, but I’ll give this one another chance.

• Apple and cheddar focaccia

  • Jviney on September 07, 2019

    Loved this focaccia. The bottom was crisp from the olive oil, and the apples and cheese melted together. I used only one honeycrisp and I think would use the two called for next time.

• Spaghetti squash tacos

  • TrishaCP on December 03, 2024

    I’m a fan! The spaghetti squash was so good with the lime juice- it kind of had slaw vibes.

• Pâte fermentée

  • anya_sf on September 08, 2018

    Very easy to make and use in recipes. Easy to scale up or down.

• Rustic batard

  • Zosia on July 19, 2016

    This is a crusty loaf with a chewy crumb and good flavour that requires a preferment and long periods of fermentation. The whole wheat flour wasn't noticeable so I would be tempted to increase that next time. I kneaded the dough according to my stand mixer manufacturer's recommendations (lower power level for a longer time)

  • anya_sf on September 04, 2018

    My loaf wasn't pretty, but it tasted great, with a dark crust, chewy, open crumb, and mild sour flavor. This recipe is more approachable than similar recipes, as the pate fermentee requires less time than a real sourdough starter. I made it over the course of 3 days, as suggested in the notes, which means the dough actually sat in the fridge 24 hours instead of 12. My bread was done in 40 minutes, so check early.

  • IvyManning on January 26, 2025

    Not that impressed, though I didn't do the slow ferment of 4-24 hours they mention as an alternative method. I think this is key because we didn't love the flavor and crust was matte and too thick.

• New Yorker rye

  • Zosia on April 28, 2016

    This loaf has an excellent caraway-rye flavour, a relatively dense and chewy crumb and a crisp crust. I needed to add extra water to achieve the soft and pliable dough consistency that's described in later steps, I suspect because of the finely milled dark rye flour I used (Rogers brand) and I kneaded it for 8 minutes on #2 setting, the setting kitchenaid recommends for my machine.

• Grindstone rye

  • anya_sf on September 25, 2018

    I used all wheat berries. The dough was wet and heavy as expected. However, it rose quite high after shaping, but then sank in the oven, so I guess I overproofed it. The texture was dense and hearty, with a nice flavor. I just wish the loaf was taller.

  • bwhip on January 17, 2021

    This bread is fantastic, we loved it. Lots of ingredients! Only thing I didn't have was sunflower seeds, so I threw in some steel-cut oats instead. We used it for avocado toast, as the author suggested, and it's definitely our new favorite bread for that purpose!. Nicely dense and chewy, with great flavor. We'll make this again.

• Pepita multigrain

  • anya_sf on September 01, 2018

    Substituted malted wheat flakes for the cracked wheat in the soaker. The dough was rather wet and sticky. I'm not sure if I should have added more flour, but I didn't. The loaves baked up nicely, although the crumb was more open than I expected. The bread was fairly moist and was good for sandwiches or toast. I enjoyed the large quantity of seeds, but my son prefers a "smoother" texture.

• Monkey bread

  • anya_sf on September 03, 2018

    I made one loaf, shaped the night before baking, refrigerated, let rise and baked in the morning. The amount of sugar mixture seemed like way too much, even after liberally rolling and sprinkling the dough, so I only used about half of it. The monkey bread was plenty sweet. The 9"x5" pan seemed much too large, but the bread totally filled the pan as it rose. Even though I liberally greased the pan, the bread stuck and I couldn't unmold it, but we had no problem serving ourselves from the pan. Very tasty! Note: unlike most monkey bread recipes, this recipe has no butter, so it's low in fat.

• Banh mi baugettes

  • mlbatt on December 07, 2020

    **"baguettes" is misspelled in the title**

• Tortillas de tiesto

  • PirateJeni on November 14, 2015

    I enjoyed these very much the next day. I did find that they cooked a HECK of a lot faster than expected. I burnt probably half of them before I figured out that I needed to turn the heat way down. It should also be noted that I have an electric stove and I used a cast iron pan. I started on medium heat but it was just way too hot. It may be that my pan got too hot and it took forever to cool down enough so your mileage may vary

• Potato knishes

  • Zosia on April 20, 2016

    Not quite like the ones I grew up eating - but they were fried - but they come very close: crisp with moist and fluffy mashed potatoes hiding a meaty little surprise. I appreciated that these were baked and the filling definitely had that homemade chicken soup flavour I was hoping for. Mine didn't brown very well so I switched to the broil setting for a few minutes at the end; I wonder if brushing them with oil before baking would have helped. The mashed potato "dough" was easiest to work with while still warm.

• Banana bread

  • jahqdruh on March 28, 2018

    This is the best banana bread ever. I substituted sour cream for the buttermilk at one baking, and plain Greek yogurt the second. The baking time in the recipe is 2 to 2 1/2 hours -- start checking for doneness early. For me, this bread is done at 1:45. Also good with sweetened shredded coconut subbed in for the nuts.

  • anya_sf on August 27, 2018

    Mine also baked in 1 hr 45 min. The bread is fairly flat (mine was slightly sunken on top), but still has good moisture and texture and isn't gummy. Despite the amount of sugar, it isn't overly sweet - this may be due to the large amount of baking soda (2.5 tsp!), which gave an off flavor. I used plain yogurt instead of buttermilk, but results should have been similar. I won't make this again as written, but might try reducing the baking soda, perhaps to 1.5 tsp.

  • patioweather on November 05, 2017

    When you eat as many bananas as we do, you end up with a lot of banana bread. It was nice to find this recipe, which is slightly different from the traditional banana bread. It is cooked long and low and the resulting bread is moister than usual. There is also more brown sugar than usual, giving the bread a richer taste. The recipe leaves it relatively unadorned, but a bread this rich would be delicious with added nutmeg and cinnamon.

  • Carriejean76 on February 22, 2026

    Favorite banana bread recipe!

• Coconut buns

  • anya_sf on August 26, 2018

    These are basically coconut drop scones. I scaled the recipe down and used the paddle attachment on my mixer, but I bet you could mix these by hand if you melt the butter. There are hardly any raisins, so if you like them, add more. The buns had a lightly sweet coconut flavor, which I enjoyed, but were a bit dry after baking 30 minutes, so next time I'd check sooner.

• Nutty granola waffles

  • anya_sf on September 02, 2018

    I didn't make the granola, just used Bob's Red Mill Honey Oat Granola, which is quite plain (no fruit or nuts). Lowfat milk worked fine. I got 6 6"-round waffles. The granola adds a pleasant chewiness and extra sweetness to the waffles. My family really liked them.

• Dominican corn bread (Torta)

  • patioweather on September 13, 2022

    This is sweeter than I would personally like, but others described this as "amazing." The preparation is not exactly the same as most other corn bread recipes, so you pay attention to the details.

• Food52 by Andrew Zimmern

  The baking is perfectly documented and endlessly approachable—even my nan-e barberi turned out beautifully. And I’ve always wanted to make it.

  Full review

• Baking Bites

  This is a fun book to bake through, with beautiful illustrations that will put you right in the bakery. There is something for everyone.

  Full review

• Eater

  ...it’s also a damn fine bakery, and its eponymous book reaches deep into the company’s coffers of authentic, hand-me-down recipes and delivers a collection impressive in both breadth and detail.

  Full review