Last month I wrote about Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day. I was less than sparkly about their general bread...too much yeast I thought. Definitely an odd aftertaste to me (the bread snob), although most of the loaves went quickly enough.

I made the Apple and Honey Challah a few weeks ago. I halved the yeast at the beginning, used 'white' whole wheat (it's not really white but it's a lighter form of wheat which looks and tastes lighter), and actually had vital wheat gluten.  This time I also glopped the wet, wet dough into an oiled bread pan (next time parchment on the bottom) and folded it right in there instead of watching it fan out foccacia-like.

It was fabulous! Very high marks, although both my husband and I thought double the apple might be better. Or maybe some apple butter to eat with it (it's definitely March and I miss it).

We also got a little crazy and went out to dinner at a local cafe and hit up Goodwill on the way home. Sitting on the shelf was Rose Levy Beranbaum's new book. I've been reading the back and forth about it on Joe Pastry over the last few months (starting at the post on 1/5/10). He did a review of the book, Beranbaum responded personally, and it touched off an interview and back and forth over the month of January.

I'm not a pastry girl (although I did make those gougere in his blog). I have enough carb love. I don't need to branch out into butter and sugar as well. However, I don't have a good cake book yet and I've moved past boxes. It seemed like a fortuitous moment. Goodwill. Cheap. Me. Cheap. Cake. Yum. All the right components.

I have not baked from it yet. But my sister's birthday this week...and my mother's next week. Perhaps I can get a little practice in. No-gluten for Sis and cream puffs (not in this book but from another Beranbaum recipe) for my mom. I'll keep you updated.