Homemade Rye Boule

Right now I’m reading the book French Women Don’t Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano. I’m not really looking to lose weight or anything; I’m just obsessed with food (obviously) and very intrigued by the obesity epidemic plaguing America. It’s astonishing and just plain sad how so many people struggle with their weight here in the United States. I can’t speak for everyone, but to me it seems that some just don’t realize what they are doing to themselves (my hypothesis come from working summer jobs in the food industry). It makes me so sad to see people gorging on processed sweets and candy, when food really is so much more.

I’m only about halfway through the book, but it has made me laugh and cry and think about my own interactions with food. The French way is quite simple: quality over quantity.

Decadent French Toast

So I made some Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread  the other day, and then decided the perfect way to eat it for breakfast was french toast. I probably had this for breakfast three days in a row--it was so delicious. The key to this french toast is letting it soak for a few minutes before putting it in the pan. Also because the bread was homemade, the insides get so soft and gooey when you turn it into french toast. So yummy! 

Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread

Dorie Greenspan is a lovely lady. Recently I've been making sooo many things from her book Baking From My Home To Yours. Everything turns out so lovely. Here is a recipe from the book for cinnamon swirl bread. Sadly I didn't get a good picture of the bread before we ate it all up. I do have a picture of the bread in french toast form though, if you would like to see. This bread is not too complex, and fun to roll. I'm just imagining all of the delicious possibilities you could roll up inside this bread, beyond cinnamon and raisins.

The Perfect Bagels (Peter Reinhart adaptation)

I am currently obsessed. with BAGELS. I have been dreaming about bagels since my first real New York City bagel last March. About 4 weeks ago, I tried to make my own through a simple, quick, online recipe. They ended up pretty good, but then a week later I went to NJ/NYC again, and what do you know, I had some more bagels. On the flight back home, I decided that I was sick of being stuck in the middle of Illinois without access to these fresh deliciously soft and chewy pillows of wonderfulness. My quest for the perfect bagel recipe began, and through a quick google search, Peter Reinhart’s famous recipe popped up. Seeing all of the amazing reviews, I knew I had to give it a try.

I now owe so much to this magical bagel man, because these bagels not only satisfy my intense craving, but they make me want to make and eat these bagels 24 hours a day for the rest of my life.

The recipe is below, with my notes and tweaks.