You visit a fancy metropolitan bakery. You pay fairly big bucks for a loaf of “artisan bread.”

You think to yourself, “Hmmm, I should be able to make this at home… how hard could it be?”

The answer is – as hard as you make it, given the degree of authenticity you want the loaf to have.

You can build your own starter, and feed it twice daily. Make dough figuring baker’s percentages and proper hydration, then mix and knead it to yield the perfect temperature for yeast growth. You can lovingly shape the loaf using traditional techniques, and bake it in an oven you’ve carefully filled with steam.

And if everything goes right, and you’re a pretty good baker, you’ll have an excellent loaf.

Me, I’m simply not that patient. I can certainly follow the artisan bread process; I’ve done it, it’s interesting, it works.

But most days, I’ll trade taste for classic preparation methods, thanks anyway. If you feel the same – read on.

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Looking for a colorful addition to your autumn bread basket?

You won’t do better than these pumpkin muffins.

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You know, there’s a reason they call certain breads “quick breads.”

Because they bake quickly?

No, not particularly.

Because they’re easy to put together and, once out of the oven, disappear quickly?

Yes, and yes.

This moist, golden pumpkin bread, a member of our 5-Star Recipes Hall of Fame (a.k.a. top-rated recipes), meets the criteria in spades.

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Did you know that Thanksgiving is only 10 days away?

WHOA! Hold on. Before you start hunting for the turkey roaster (and prior to checking yourself for a severe case of “my, how time flies”), listen up-

American Thanksgiving is right where it’s always been (well, since 1941): the fourth Thursday in November.

And Canadian Thanksgiving is right where it’s been since 1957: the second Monday in October. Which this year is October 10 – 10 days from now.

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What’s the ONE thing you simply have to bake for Thanksgiving every year?

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Imagine the tart-sweet taste of homemade cranberry sauce, its tender/crisp berries bursting on your tongue.

Now consider toasted pecans, embedded in rich dark chocolate.

And a crunchy, pleasantly sweet-nutty graham cracker crust.

Right about now, you’re either thinking YES…

…or EWWWWWWW!

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Is there any (non-chocolate) dessert so compelling as a slice of warm apple pie, topped with vanilla ice cream?

Is there any baking challenge so daunting, so fraught with anxiety, so filled with high expectations (and so liable to shipwreck on the rocky shores of failure) as apple pie?

Methinks not.

Mealsothinks fear of apple pie is totally unfounded.

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Psst! Here’s a quick-and-easy dessert for the Thanksgiving groaning board. And, since it’s served right from the pan it’s baked in, it’s incredibly easy to wrap and take to wherever your moveable feast is being held this year.

We posted a blog on a berry-topped cake back in September. Now that Thanksgiving is upon us, it’s time to take that same recipe and substitute fresh cranberries for the raspberries.

Take a look at our recipe for Late Summer Berry Torte. Make the following changes, and Bob’s your uncle: Thanksgiving Cranberry Cake.

Spoon the batter into a lightly greased 8″ round pan. Top with 2 cups fresh cranberries. Sprinkle the cranberries with 1/3 cup granulated sugar + 2 tablespoons coarse sparkling sugar; or with 1/2 cup granulated sugar.

Bake in a preheated 350°F oven for 45 minutes, until a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven, and serve warm – as is, or topped with ice cream or whipped cream.

Bookmark this blog, and let the Thanksgiving countdown continue!

What’s the ONE thing you simply have to bake for Thanksgiving every year?

You know, your signature dish; the pumpkin pie, or cranberry bread, or even the stuffing that everyone demands of you. You might get tired of making it – but show up at your brother-in-law’s without it, and I tell you, Mr. Man, you’re in deep… trouble. (more…)

Wait a minute. It’s less than 2 weeks till Thanksgiving. Shouldn’t I be seeing a pumpkin pie here?

Well… yeah, if you’re totally wedded to tradition. And admittedly, this is the time of year when many of us are. Grandma always made pumpkin pie. Or Mom always bought Mrs. Smith’s frozen apple pie (and passed it off as homemade by “distressing” the edges).

Whatever. If it’s your family tradition, it’s a comfortable raft to cling to.

Then again, as Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote, “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.” (more…)