Pita Bread

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Pita Bread

Pita Bread

I write to you from the road on this overcast afternoon. The sky is a band of mixed hues, blue and gray clouds hanging low and heavy in the tired lull of midafternoon light. The landscape is muted, with brown prairie grasses and the occasional small dark green bush. The world rushes by quickly outside the car window, passing slow enough to grasp, but not long enough to leave a lasting impact. Instead, the impression is formed from miles and miles of prairie terrain extending from the road to the farthest reaches of my vision.

Even before the world has overcome the death of winter, the landscape can be beautiful.

Pita Bread Pita Bread

After traveling across North Dakota and part of Montana, the scarcity of people becomes evident as the rolling landscape and occasional ranch dominate the journey. It may be an hour or more before a significant settlement pops up along the road. While some people find this land endless or lonely, it feels like home to me. After traveling across the country more than once, I much prefer the beauty of nature to the busy roadsides of the manmade domain.

I am headed to the mountains for a weekend of skiing and lounging near the fire, saying my final farewells to the winter air and snow-covered ground. The car is heavy, weighted down by suitcases, ski boots, and warm bodies. The mountains are growing closer, as evergreen trees are becoming more numerous, grouped on the sides of the increasingly steeper hills. Still, the mountains are not within sight.

Pita Bread Pita Bread

On long car rides, where the hours blur into the landscape and time is put on hold, food revives our sleepy souls. A cooler of snacks rests at my side, filled with enough sweet and salty snacks to please even the most selective of eaters. As with any road trip, I like to pack a few treats to make the time pass faster and to sustain us once we have arrived at our destination. Banana bread, monster cookies, and a few pitas are taking the expedition with us, ready when hunger strikes.

As the unending road rolls out before me, I realize how far I have come and how many hours there is to go before the Rocky Mountains will lay at my feet.

Pita Bread

Homemade Pita Bread is an alternative to bread, acting as a vessel for your favorite sandwich ingredients. The bread is made from only a few ingredients, including a mixture of bread and whole wheat flour. The pita bread does take a bit of time to roll out and bake, but the effort is well worth the final product. By nature of the bread, the pitas puff in the oven, filling with air, and creating a pocket to be filled with meat, cheese, or vegetables. The pitas are best enjoyed in the first couple days when they are the most fresh.

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Bacon & Chive Beer Bread

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Bacon & Chive Beer Bread

Bacon & Chive Beer Bread

Since moving out on my own, the little holiday traditions I would share with my family or friends have changed. The rituals I enjoyed are evolving and taking on new forms. I am learning to rediscover these holidays, to make them my own in a small way. When I was younger, I imagined how the holidays would change as I grew older with my own family, but this middle ground, where I am neither a child nor a grown adult, has proven an adventure. A good adventure, but an adventure all the same.

Usually these little holidays make for a good excuse to raid the candy aisle, I've found.

Bacon & Chive Beer Bread Bacon & Chive Beer Bread

The Super Bowl was one of those small celebrations my family shared together. Even though none of us cared much for football (we were lucky to catch a single game in a year's time), we made a big deal out of it just the same, turning an ordinary Sunday into something a little special. My mother would make mini sausages and a large pot of chili, leaving them to simmer on the stove until the smell drove us to the kitchen brandishing bowls and spoons. The game would be on in the background, secondary to the time we spent with one another. It was a simple tradition we shared together, but it was one I looked forward to as each new year approached.

In trying to find my own way to celebrate the Super Bowl this year, I've already stashed half a loaf of this Bacon & Chive Beer Bread into the freezer to emerge on game day. Paired with a hearty chili, I believe this will make for a good start for my own tradition. I may not know who is playing, or who will entertain at the half-time show, but there is no way that chili-soaked beer bread could ever be a let-down.

Bacon & Chive Beer Bread

If you are looking for more Super Bowl party dishes for the big day, check these out:

Bacon & Chive Beer Bread

Bacon & Chive Beer Bread is exceptionally simple to make, requiring only a bowl, spoon, and five minutes of your time. The bread is infused with bacon and chives, which elevates the classic beer bread to a new level. Melted butter is poured over the loaf before baking, which soaks deep into the bread and gives it a wonderfully buttery crust. I suggest using your favorite beer for the loaf because the flavor will be quite pronounced; that said, I would shy away from sweet or fruity beers because it would fight the saltiness of the rest of ingredients.

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Rosemary Sandwich Bread

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Rosemary Sandwich Bread

Rosemary Sandwich Bread

When I first decided to become a baker, I was convinced I would love cake decorating. I had a small artistic streak and fostered a passion for arts and crafts. Cake decorating seemed like the perfect mesh of my interests and hobbies, as if it was meant to be. I was in love with the idea before I even tried it.

My first real job in the field was baking the cakes in a small bakery specializing in its namesake, with the hopes of one day becoming a decorator myself. I took local cake decorating courses in the evenings, trying to become proficient in the tricks of the trade. After many long evenings filled with lopsided roses, uneven borders, cracked fondant, and frustrated tears, I was no longer convinced I would love—or even like—cake decorating. In fact, I was sincerely positive I never wanted to lay eyes on a flower made of frosting again.

I put my simple dreams of becoming a decorator to rest, tucking them in a box to be forgotten under the bed. Though disappointed, my love for baking had not wavered. It was time to point my heart in a different direction.

Rosemary Sandwich Bread

When I started baking breads for another bakery, my first impression left me with a cynical view and a sour attitude. The dough was ever sticky and my shoulders ached from kneading and rolling out dozens of bagels and rolls. I had a difficult time seeing the joy in the process. As the days passed, however, my perspective slowly began to evolve. I began to understand the dough, feeling the subtle changes in its texture as I kneaded it beneath my fingertips. My hands learned to conform to the character of the dough when I rolled it into various shapes. The musky scent of yeast punctuated these intimate moments, which quickly became my most beloved of all my tasks.

The dough was alive, truly alive, filled with the life my buttercream roses could only pretend to possess. Though I never anticipated it, I was smitten, enamored with the process from beginning to end. Even as I bake in my small apartment kitchen today, I can only allow a few weeks to pass before the itch to rediscover yeast surfaces.

Rosemary Sandwich Bread

Last weekend was one such instance. I bought a bundle of fresh rosemary on a whim and, still dreaming of this focaccia, I knew that the rosemary was destined to get together with a little yeast. With the addition of salt, cracked pepper, and olive oil, this simple bread became a handsome marriage of flavors. For the last week, I've been enjoying this bread, savoring it slowly, finding a new love in the cracks and crevices of the grain.

At first I wasn't sure what the Rosemary Sandwich Bread would work well with, but after a little dabbling, I discovered it is divine with nearly everything, elevating simple sandwiches to an entirely new level. I served it aside chicken noodle soup, combined with chicken and bacon to form the best toasted sandwiches, and I imagine it would be glorious soaked in mashed potatoes and gravy. I've spent so much energy in the last two days willing the bread to reappear after the last slice was gone that I've vowed to make it again this weekend (and for many, many weekends to follow).

Rosemary Sandwich Bread

Rosemary Sandwich Bread is a Mediterranean twist on the traditional loaf of bread. The final product is herbed and salty, balanced with the rich, smooth undertones of olive oil. This everyday bread has bright flavor that will go well with anything from breakfast to dinner. I strongly suggest using fresh rosemary in the bread to bring about the most vivid flavor, but dried rosemary will work in a pinch. This bread has become an instant favorite in my household and may soon become a kitchen staple.

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