Savory Pockets

Whole grain croissants might vie for the title of  The Ultimate Food. What might come as a surprise to many, is that they’re really not all that difficult to make.

I’ve just posted a 3 part video tutorial that will hopefully inspire you to give it a try.
Click here to check it out.

Besides the usual crescent shaped and chocolate croissants, you’ll see my favorite: croissant pockets stuffed with a variety of savory fillings. So good.

Enjoy!

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North Carolina should change its nickname from the “Tar Heel” state to the “Artisan” state. And Asheville, NC might rightfully lay claim to the Artisan Bread Capital of the World. Nowhere else will you find such a assemblage of talented bakers and quality hand crafted breads.

Once a year, most of these bread artists gather at the Asheville Bread Festival to showcase their goods. The event is busy and there’s a lot to take it, yet it’s still intimate enough to enjoy interacting and chatting with the bakers. This years festival also attracted some of the most respected big name bakers in the US — Craig Ponsford, Peter Reinhart, and Lionel Vatinet. Several workshops and lectures could be attended for $10 each, representing one the greatest bargains in the history of the world (don’t tell the event organizers).

I attended both of Craig Ponsfords excellent classes. I’m a big fan of Craig and love what he’s doing with with whole grain flours. Assisting Craig was fellow bread savant Mike Zakowski (check out this cool video). Meanwhile, Denyce enjoyed Peter Reinharts class on gluten free baking.

Asheville is a great town in its own right, so plan to go next March and spend a day in artisan bread heaven. For us, it was an absolutely wonderful day.

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Meeting Treska

We met Treska Lindsey and her daughter at the Asheville Bread Festival in March. Treska, now 88, is an author and illustrator, mostly of children’s books, who survived the Nazi occupation of her native Belgium as a teenager. After WWII, she came to the US, married Bob Lindsey and settled in the mountains of North Carolina.

We were especially enchanted by “How Batistine Made Bread,” a book about how a six year old makes bread from scratch (starting with harvesting the wheat!) Besides having children help you make bread, the book is a wonderful way for children to connect with making bread at home.

Originally published in 1985 under a slightly different title, “How Batistine Made Bread” was picked by the “New Yorker” for its yearly list of best children’s books. In 2010, she had it reprinted due to popular demand.

You can check out it and other books by Treska on her website — www.treskalindsey.com. You will not be disappointed.

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