Basic White Loaves

I am so excited to be posting our very first Tuesdays with Dorie recipe from our newest baking adventure guidebook, Baking with Julia! Being a part Tuesdays with Dorie during Baking From My Home To Yours was such a fun journey and I just loved it.

This week we tackled Craig Kominiak's recipe for White Loaves, from Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan. I had never heard of Craig Kominiak and apparently he got his start as a chef by cooking for the Navy, after five years of cooking three meals a day for 200 sailors, he enrolled in the Culinary Institute of America and has since become a famous baker at Ecce Panis artisan bakery.

The recipe makes two loaves, one loaf I kept traditional -- the above photo is it before rising.

And the second half of the dough I decided to have a little fun with and make a cinnamon sugar swirl, which according to the TWD website, a lot of people were incorporating into their loaves.

But I didn't just make another loaf, nah, I decided to have a go at a heart shaped swirl bread. I love making shaped breads, so fun to get creative with the dough and hope that your "art" comes out of the oven as you'd imagined while preparing it.

Why a heart? Is it because Valentine's Day is right around the corner? Nope! It is because today is our 9th wedding anniversary :) Yep, nine years with picky husband, and we've had so much fun. He loves bread and I am happy to make it often, add a cinnamon sugar swirl and he is one happy camper.

Drizzle on some icing (powdered sugar and skim milk) and you will have a breakfast treat sure to become a new favorite.

Both breads were a hit with the whole family, the plain loaf was great for sandwiches and toast, and the cinnamon swirl bread didn't even need butter.


I twisted the swirl so it made a few different swirl shapes as you sliced through the loaf. Some parts even looked like a cinnamon roll...

This bread was a hit with the whole family. Below is a photo of my youngest taste tester completely enjoying his slice after a messy morning art session (confirmed the marker on his hands). I am happy to say that this first Tuesdays with Dorie -- Baking with Julia recipe was a huge success and I can't wait to try our next selection, Chocolate Truffle Tartlets, they sound delicious!