Notes about Recipes in this book

• Pain aux pruneaux

  • Jane on January 25, 2016

    This felt like a too virtuous dessert so I added a dark chocolate ganache topping. Still was just OK. I think my buckwheat flour may have been too dominant (maybe too dark). It may be worth trying it again with a lighter flour.

• Buckwheat crepes

  • zorra on July 15, 2014

    Concrete not crêpes! Proportion of flour to liquid is way off, so far I won't even note all I had to add to make the batter usable & not bitter. Should have chosen a Chocolate & Zucchini or Tanis recipe, but I wanted to "eat my books", especially this unused tome.

  • mjes on September 24, 2019

    Yes, I took a class in August on galettes taught by a native of Brittany. I learned two important things (1) why it is easier to use a crepe maker than a crepe pan ... think ease of maintaining a consistent temperature and (2) why one should learn to make galettes from someone who was making them at the age of 4 ... think of learning the the ratio of flour to water by how the batter runs off your fingers rather than measurements. So, yes, I scratched my head at the description of the desired consistency of the batter. And given the variation in the hydration of rye flour, an accurate description of the batter is essential - measurements may or may not be accurate. But if one is familiar with crepes & galettes, this is an adequate recipe for galettes. And galettes ought to be in everyone's repertoire for a fillable bread. I am curious that a previous review refers to bitterness. I wonder if she accidentally used bitter (tartary) buckwheat rather than common buckwheat.

  • mjes on September 24, 2019

    NOTE: There are two separate recipes offered: (1) Basic buckwheat crepes and (2) Modern crepes (also buckwheat). There is then a suggested egg topping that applies to either crepe recipe.

• Oatcakes

  • eliza on May 03, 2015

    These are great oatcakes. I used the food processor so they came together in seconds. They are addicting however so you have to be careful not to eat too many.

• Moroccan biscotti

  • michalow on April 14, 2013

    Lovely and not too sweet. I used part (1/3) wheat flour and added some figs. I didn't bother blanching the almonds, and the skins didn't bother me at all. Will make these again. Great use for that bottle of orange blossom water that never seems to get used up!

• Taipei coconut buns

  • Zosia on September 22, 2016

    Lovely soft buns filled with a chewy caramel-coconut filling (and the fragrance while they baked was incredible!) I used unbleached cake and all-purpose flours but I do think there's an error in the recipe since the amount of flour listed made a thin batter; an extra 1 cup(120g) AP flour made a soft but workable dough. They were a little tricky to shape as directed since the moist filling interfered with the seal; it would be easier to fill individual buns.

• Quick pastry

  • Zosia on September 10, 2014

    I learned the technique of grating frozen butter into the flour mixture from this recipe and that trick and this recipe have never failed me. I'm not certain why - perhaps the lemon juice? - but the dough is a dream to work with and bakes up flaky and tender. For fruit galettes, I reduce the salt to 1/2 tsp and add 1 tsp sugar.

• Free-form fruit galette

  • Zosia on September 10, 2014

    Sweetened baked fruit and a tender crust makes this dessert a family favourite. I usually have almond flour on hand so use that without toasting it - it has a neutral flavour and does the job of absorbing some of the juice. I make this with the quick pastry from the same book but find that I do have to bake for an extra 15-20 minutes.

• Quick Swedish rye

  • mjes on September 24, 2019

    A light rye flour, sour milk replaced by yogurt and milk, a honey sweetener, this quick soda bread is a surprisingly good substitute for a sour rye bread for open-faced sandwiches ... yes, think smörgåsbord.

• Irish soda bread

  • mjes on September 24, 2019

    The Mother of an Irish friend made the Irish soda bread that I measure all others against. One has to have a target if you're ever to win the St. Patrick's day soda bread contest. This recipe is a move in the right direction with its use of oatmeal but is a bit too heavy on the whole wheat to be quite what I'm looking for. This is a decent bread for general use ... worth making occasionally but not worth one of my favorites star.

• New England brown bread

  • mjes on September 24, 2019

    I usually use the Joy of Cooking recipe but the use of stale bread in this recipe caught my attention, especially in the context of zero waste. This recipe also uses whole wheat rather than graham flour. This makes a very decent loaf but I'll stick with getting bread pudding out of my stale bread and my Mother's cooking fix from the Joy of Cooking.