Tools of the Trade Tuesday: Wooden Pastry Board & Bread Cookbook

Tuesday is going to quickly become my favorite blogging day. Why??? Because I love kitchen gadgets!!! I have lots of useless ones, such as an apple corer...I mean, who needs that? Though, I also have a corer and divider, and I LOVE THIS! Then there's the herb roller/cutter...It really doesn't work very well. But still, I have them because, like I said, I love kitchen gadgets.


Well, after reading about a new cookbook that my friend Jenn has, I decided I had to have it. So, I got on Amazon.com and bought it. And since I was going to turn myself into a homemade bread maker, I also decided I needed to be grown up and have a wooden pastry board like my mom. So....today's kitchen gadgets are....

My new Catskill Craftsmen Wood Pastry Board with Baking Graphics

And...the cookbook Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking

Why I wanted a wooden pasty board...

At heart, I am a pie maker. One of the first things I ever remember making, and mastering, was a Dutch apple pie. My mom taught me how to make this when I was young, and I recall us winning an apple pie baking contest at a church picnic one summer. Plus, part of the art of an apple pie is the end product and how pretty the top turns out. I still take pictures of all of my masterpieces. The tops of your pies can be custom designed, and in the past I have done an apple cut out, fall leaves, and even an MSU themed pie with paw prints! Really all you need is a rolling pin, some cookie cutters or a small knife, and a little imagination. I also love the movie Waitress, which always inspires me to bake pies.

Any pie baker knows that to make your homemade crust, or cookies, or pizza dough or anything else that requires rolling, that you need a nice, clean surface to roll. For the last several years I have used a plastic cookie sheet that rolls up. Those things drive me nuts though! You always have to find heavy objects to weigh down the corners, which gets in the way of the rolling process. Then, over Christmas, when Will and I were baking cookies, my mom let me use her wooden pastry board. It has pie shapes and measurements already on there! *gasp* I knew I needed one of these! However, time passed by until I decided to become a bread maker and needed a pastry board of my own.

So what did I do? I got on Amazon.com. Well, first I called my mom and asked her what she calls that wooden thing uses to roll out dough...then I got on Amazon.com and searched for a wooden pastry board. I found one for only $25, and since I'm a Prime member, I get free shipping. HOORAY!!! I got it in the mail last week, and it is fantastic! It's large, and not terribly heavy, and just perfect for my pie and bread making adventures. I totally recommend this board for not only its usability, but also the great price!

Now to the cookbook....

I'm so astounded by this book, which I knew I would be when I first read about it. I ordered it with the pastry board on Amazon and read it over the weekend. (Yes, I sat down and read a cookbook. I do this often, actually. You learn a lot that way.)

Anyway, it really is as easy as it sounds! I made a half batch of the master recipe yesterday and baked a half pound loaf for dinner for my brother. And he said he loved it! He was really impressed! The bread was golden and crunchy on the outside and soft and moist on the inside. It made the perfect loaf of bread, and it was pretty on top of that! (SEE MY PIC!!!)

Tonight I'm taking the recipe and making a sweet and spicy bbq chicken pizza for dinner. (You guys know I don't buy pizzas, right? I always make my own. I should start a pizza label on here. I love making them for quick and easy dinners. Though, I have only make a homemade crust once, and I typically use the Mama Mary's pre-made crust.) However, now that I have learned a fast and easy way to produce pizza dough, I will probably never buy a store-bought crust again!

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Oh...kitchen gadgets, how I love thee! And if I keep buying more and more, I'm going to need a bigger kitchen and a bigger house! Not to mention a bigger bank account to fund all of the other bigness! Hmmmm...maybe "Tools of the Trade Tuesday" should stick to gadgets I already have now! : ) I already have a running list of what I want to blog about anyway.

So...what are YOUR favorite kitchen gadgets? Share the love! And, as always....

Happy cooking!