Comments on: mighty russian morsels

By: Anna

Anna — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 18:01:46 +0000

I love this article and I love you. My boyfriend and I are amateur foodies and gourmet chef want-to-be’s. Like your husband, my boyfriend is also Russian and my first experience at his parents house was exactly as you described at your in-law’s. I have been so intimidated by his mother’s cooking (and her amazing talent, as Russian, Jewish, mother for taking care of everyone in every possible way) that I have only ever been brave enough to bake a pie to take to her house. On top of it all, my boyfriend is very selective about giving out compliments, so I rarely get an excellent review despite the fact that I am a very good cook and an excellent baker. I think now I will have the courage to try making some Russian food for him and perhaps one day for his family.

By: Janet

Janet — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 21:22:33 +0000

Loved your NPR article on Russian foods. I have a Russian sister-in-law and I love her wonderful potato salads and cabbage pies. One night when visiting she had me try the bread, butter and caviar combo…not such a fan but I gave it an honest try. Can’t wait to make the bread and eggplant caviar. Maybe I’ll surprise her sometime with something delightful.

By: deb

deb — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 15:56:19 +0000

Hi Jesse — You’re going to love this bread. I still dream about it. It does involve kneading, but the recipe doesn’t specify a number of minutes or anything. “Scrape dough off paddle, gradually add flour mixture, and knead to make a springy yet dense dough. You might not use all of the flour mixture.” You’re looking for a smooth dough that doesn’t feel too sticky. If you pull back a piece, you should see some stringy/springiness; it shouldn’t just tear like a cookie dough would. Hope that helps.

By: Jesse

Jesse — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 14:35:58 +0000

I just stumbled upon the NPR piece while planning my menu for a Russian themed dinner party I’m throwing this weekend. I can’t WAIT to try this bread. It looks like the best recipe I’ve tried for it so far. My only question – why no kneading? It looks as if there’s just a short mix?

By: Caitlin

Caitlin — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 03:46:07 +0000

Hi Deb,
I just wanted to tell you that I made the kidney bean salad from your NPR story.. it was so good! I am a sucker for bean salads, but it passed the true test because my boyfriend, who never eats that kind of food, loved it too. Success!!

I can’t wait to try this bread too.. mmmmm…

By: Beth

Beth — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 17:42:36 +0000

Wow! I too saw this recipe and my first thought was: a challenge, I love it! The local bulk food section provided every flour and seed I didn’t have in stock and everything went great. The bread is fabulous, and today the coworkers are devouring it like the good little kitchen vultures they are (they’ll devour anything left on the counter, but this time it comes with compliments, so I know it went well.)

A word of caution on the eggplant caviar, though: when I bake I follow the recipe religiously. When it’s anything else, I’m a bit more free form. And whenever I see “3-4 cloves of garlic” my mind instantly translates that to “4-5 cloves of garlic.” Usually it’s fine, but my eggplant caviar is now burn-your-mouth-with-garlic hot. It’s still-tasting-it-the-next-morning-no-matter-how-much-brushing-and-mouthwash hot. It’s absolutely fabulous and wonderful with the bread, but 2nd day garlic mouth isn’t so pleasant. So stick to the 3-5 as listed.

By: ann

ann — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 17:23:31 +0000

alright deb, your honor’s on the line, i made the salty mushrooms yesterday… only time will tell now!!!

By: Kit

Kit — Sun, 18 Mar 2007 21:32:50 +0000

I made your black bread recipe this weekend, and it was delicious! Since you didn’t specify what kind of bran to use, I picked wheat bran. I think my butter/chocolate/molasses mixture was a little too hot when I added it to the flour and yeast because it didn’t rise as fast as you indicated (I think I probably killed some of the yeast because of the heat). It turned out dense, but it was a big hit at dinner. Thanks for sharing such a tasty recipe :-)

By: your "former boss"

your "former boss" — Sat, 17 Mar 2007 17:08:13 +0000

I made the bread last night. Wow is it great! I made a couple of adaptations that I thought I’d share: 1. I used rye plus whole wheat bread flour (and the loaf was still moist and delicious); 2. I baked this as one big loaf (since I couldn’t fit two in my tiny New York City oven at the same time). I based it in a 4-quart Le Creuset oval pan. (Like the NYTimes’ No-Knead bread.) I dumped the big, very moist loaf into the preheated pan (after the second rising) and baked at 425 F covered for 15 minutes. Then uncovered and baked another 40-45 minutes. Came out perfect! (I also made this bread without the mixer — did the mixing by hand. Still worked perfectly.) Thanks, Deb! Definitely a keeper.

By: Alan Takeda

Alan Takeda — Sat, 17 Mar 2007 13:49:19 +0000

I printed out your Black Bread recipe for my wife, Elaine, and she made two loaves of it last night! Being on March break, she had time yesterday to round up some of the ingredients. Glorious aromas filled the house when I came in from work! She loved the easy to follow steps of the recipe.The bread is fabulous….tasty, richly textured, filling, and wonderfully aromatic. It’s a hit!
Next, is the Irish soda bread. We also bought Rose Levy Beranbaum’s Bread Bible. I think that’s the end of store-bought loaves for a while!