Roasted Peach Ice Cream

Fruit | Ice Cream

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As much as I love fall, I'm really going to miss the abundance and variety of fresh local fruit that we have in the summer. I love going down to the farmers market on Saturday, picking up whatever fresh fruit that was in season, and finding something to make with it. Fall has apples, pears, and, of course, pumpkins, which are all nice fruits, but they're not the same as fresh raspberries, strawberries, peaches, or blueberries. They just don't have that bright, summery taste. I guess that's what makes them so wonderful when they finally arrive at the markets - we've missed them for so long. 

Posted by : Hint of Vanilla
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Basic Bread Dough

Bread

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Bread is incredibly simple yet deceptively complicated at the same time. Four ingredients - flour, water, yeast, salt - that can be manipulated to produce an endless variety of products. Every step in making bread is important and attention to detail is key. A slip-up in any of the many steps can create a less than impressive bread.

Because of this, people are intimidated by making bread at home. It's complicated, I don't have a bread stone, I don't have a steam injection oven, I don't have a linen cloth, I don't have a mixer. To make an outstanding loaf of bread, yes, those tools really do help. But you can still make a great loaf of bread without all the extra equipment and it is much simpler than most people make it out to be. The only tool you really, truly need is a digital thermometer. You don't need a mixer (I did these completely by hand), but a thermometer is essential. Once you successfully make a loaf of bread at home, you'll be hooked on it.

Posted by : Hint of Vanilla
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