Cakes are not that complicated to bake. Almost any cook can whip up a batch of chocolate chip cookies. Great yeasty loaves, on the other hand, can be totally intimidating.
There are a gazillion bread cookbooks out there, but they tend to read like college textbooks because they are written by pastry chefs.
Allyson Reedy is the first to admit she is far from a professional baker. That’s why her new cookbook 30 Breads to Bake Before You Die, published in August via Ulysses Press, is such a joy.
“I’m definitely more of the eater than the creator of the food,” Reedy says. “I’m not an expert baker by any stretch of the imagination. I just really love breads and wanted to learn how to make them at home.”
The volume guides regular home cooks through making breads’ greatest hits — from brioche, challah and honey whole wheat sandwich loaf, to Japanese milk bread, focaccia and croissants (from renowned pastry chef Dominique Ansel).
The Broomfield-based food writer previously penned the post-pandemic cookbook, 50 Things to Bake Before You Die, in 2022. She devoted several years to seeking recipes for all her favorite loaves and then doing some “delicious research.”
Reedy started by requesting recipes from some of her favorite local sources: baguettes from Shawn Bergin of Denver’s celebrated Bakery Four, Caroline Glover’s English muffins from Annette’s in Aurora, and the pizza crust served at Pizzeria Alberico in Boulder.
Mastering sourdough was a priority, including variations like marble rye sourdough from Zach Martinucci, award-winning baker at Rebel Bread in Denver. But the toughest (and rewarding) is the baguette recipe from Bakery Four, which uses dry yeast and sourdough starter.
“The biggest challenge was cutting professional bakers’ recipes down to versions that worked in a home kitchen,” according to Reedy.
Prep times can vary from a day or two for some sourdough recipes to quicker bakes like a simple three-ingredient beer bread.
“I also have a good banana quick bread,” she says.
For the love of chocolate chip cookies
Reedy’s love of baked goods springs from a simple childhood memory.
“I grew up with a single teenage mom,” she says. “We weren't going to fancy bakeries. When Mom made chocolate chip cookies, that was a big thing. I remember her sitting in our living room with a big bowl and a big spoon stirring as fast as she could.
“Eating the dough is still the best part of baking for me,” she says. “And now for my kids, too.”
Baking is a weekly occurrence in the Reedy household, and recipe testing and food photography produces a wealth of tasty goodies — something her husband and two kids welcome.
“We eat all the bread and desserts with no problem,” she says with a smile.
Where to get the goods
Besides baking at home, Reedy’s work “requires” her to repeatedly visit bakeries in the metro area.
“I'll always find an excuse to go to a new bakery,” she says.
Reedy happily points bread lovers to GetRight’s Bakery and Plant Nursery in Wheat Ridge, La Fillette Bakery and Rebel Bread in Denver, Aurora’s Banh & Butter Bakery, and Miette et Chocolat and the Enchanted Oven in Broomfield. She also recommends Jeannot’s Patisserie in Lafayette and Longmont’s Babettes Bakery.
One bakery retains a special place in Reedy’s carb-loving heart.
“For me, it’s Moxie Bread Co.,” she says. “That's the one that changed the bread game in Colorado.”
Bakery Roadtrip
For many of us, the holiday gauntlet from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day means festive baked goodies from around the world: whether it’s Bûche De Noël (yule log), panettone (Italian yeast cake), stollen (German fruit and nut loaf), challah or baklava. Here is a brief itinerary to some of our favorite family-run international bakeries that produce authentic holiday treats.
Italian: Dolce Sicilia Italian Bakery (Wheat Ridge); German: Rheinlander Bakery (Arvada); Danish: Taste of Denmark (Lakewood); Japanese: Tokyo Premium Bakery (Denver); Middle Eastern: Istanbul Café and Bakery (Denver); Armenian: House of Bread (Denver); Cuban: Cuba Bakery and Cafe (Aurora); Jewish: Rosenberg’s Kosher (Denver); Vietnamese: Vinh Xuong Bakery (Denver); Greek: Omonoia Greek Bakery (Denver).
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