Bread Flour

Get back to basics, and take pleasure in baking your own nourishing bread.

Cookbook author Joanne Weir is known for her flavor-packed Mediterranean-inspired food. Her book From Tapas to Meze shows the breadth of her Mediterranean influences. Here, Joanne shares a favorite pizza recipe that we adapted for grilling using a Tuscan grill that fits into the fireplace of her home in San Francisco. The bitter escarole on this pizza is balanced by the sweet pine nuts, creamy cheeses, and the salty olives. The dough for a grilled pizza needs a bit more structure from gluten to keep it from oozing through the grates of the grill, which is why this one is kneaded for a longer time than other pizza doughs.

Peter Reinhart is a well-known cookbook author; his Crust and Crumb, The Bread Baker’s Apprentice, and Whole Grain Breads have been graced with prestigious awards. At Ramekins, where he occasionally teaches bread classes, Peter and I baked bread and pizzas together in the wood-fired oven after his last class. This recipe came from his The Bread Baker’s Apprentice. It is an amazing formula that can be turned into baguettes, ciabatta, focaccia, and pizza. That baking session was about a lot more than the recipe. It was about the primary message of this book: joyfully cooking and sharing with others at the fire.

Feel free to substitute 2 1/2 pounds of your favorite dried fruits for the ones called for here. If you choose larger fruits, such as pears or apples, be sure to cut them into a 1/4-inch dice before using. Cakes can be wrapped in plastic and kept at room temperature for up to three days or in the refrigerator for up to six months.

If you a prefer a loaf with a rounded top, you can bake the dough without the lid in place; the baking time should be the same.

This free-form dough can be shaped into two longer loaves or one big round; you may need to adjust the baking time.

Because brioche is made with a large amount of butter, it is important to use the best quality you can find. Remember: The butter and eggs must be cold, or you may end up with something that resembles cake batter, rather than bread dough. If this happens, chill the dough until it becomes workable. Never add more flour, which toughens the dough.

Challah is sometimes garnished with poppy seeds before being baked; sprinkle 1 1/2 teaspoons poppy seeds over the bread after brushing with egg wash.

Instead of making two large loaves, divide the dough into four equal pieces for demi-baguettes.

In keeping with traditional methods, we boil our bagels briefly before baking. This ensures that they will have a chewy interior, as well as a crisp outer crust.

Focaccia is best eaten the same day it is made, although it will keep for up to one day at room temperature; wrap well with plastic. It tastes great when warmed in a 250-degree oven until heated through, about 15 minutes.

The puffy, rectangular shape of Ciabatta is thought to have inspired its name, which means “slipper” in Italian.

Pissaladière is a specialty of the southern French town of Nice. Named for pissalat (“salted fish”), this tart always includes anchovies, either whole or puréed, which are spread over the dough before baking.

If using dry yeast instead of fresh, heat the milk to about 110°F, then stir in the yeast to dissolve. Let stand until foamy, about five minutes, and proceed with the recipe. The dough can be made ahead through all of the turns and frozen for up to three months; before using, defrost the dough in the refrigerator for twenty-four hours. After baking, Croissants are best eaten within six hours.

These cakes are traditionally served with unsweetened, fresh whipped cream. You can top them with fresh berries, if you like. The recipe is easily doubled.

These tuile-like cookies have a rich caramel flavor, but are packed with nuts. The addition of bread flour, which contains more gluten than all-purpose flour, makes them sturdier than traditional tuiles.