Jess Wrobel: Textiles and Decor

A few years ago I picked up a copy of Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois.  We haven’t bought a loaf of bread since.  The smell of baking bread and warm tender slices fresh from the oven—well, nothing beats it.  Most of the time I just make some sort of organic white, wheat, or combination thereof, but I occasionally get fancy.  Last weekend I woke with a hankering for a buttery slab of cinnamon raisin bread, so  I caved and added an extra 5 minutes to my bread routine.  Rolling out my usual dough into a thick rectangle, I smothered it with butter, honey from a local farm, plump raisins, nutmeg, and a generous dusting of  cinnamon.  The whole darn thing got rolled up and dropped in the pan and baked as normal.  Yum.  Now I’m on a bread inclusion tear.  Earlier this week I pulled out the second to last garden pesto from the freezer (yes, I’m counting) and made pesto and sun-dried tomato bread.  And I’m remembering other favorites:  chocolate cherry, olive parm, honey pecan.  I’m also dreaming up new combinations like honey walnut gorganzola, speck and asparagus, and strawberry marmalade with brie.  Ah, yes.  I definitely enjoy the kitchen arts, too.