Breads on Bruce loves to cook

Focaccia

Thu, 18 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

I started making focaccia when I needed to find a use for some leftover pizza dough. I enriched it with olive oil, topped it with kosher salt, and baked it in a pan. We ate it with olive oil and balsamic, and it was lovely.

Apple, berry & almond scones

Mon, 08 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

We first made this on Mother’s Day 💜, many years ago.

Ingredients

650 g flour
100 g caster (baker’s) sugar
- or grind granulated sugar briefly in a mortar and pestle
20 g baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
Pinch of salt
125 g butter, cold and diced
1 large apple (or 2 medium), peeled and diced
2 eggs
200 ml buttermilk
2 tsp vanilla
1 egg, beaten, for egg wash
A handful of fresh berries (raspberries, blueberries, or blackberries)
A handful of flaked almonds
Icing sugar, to dust

Method

Heat the oven to 200°C (400°F), or 180°C (350°F) with the fan on. Line a baking tray with parchment.

Baguettes

Mon, 08 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Baguettes are a crusty, airy bread, perfect for snacking, sandwiches, and with soup.

Mechanic

75% hydration, a narrow shape, and steam make the baguette. The wet dough gives an open crumb; the thin shape and a steamy oven let the crust set crisp and brown before the inside dries out. This is more of a method than a specific recipe: the same dough makes several similar breads by varying the rise and oven time.

Cheddar herb biscuits (or savoury scones)

Mon, 08 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Every now and then, I crave cheddar herb biscuits. I’ve tried a few recipes, and this is the best so far.

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour
4 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp sugar
¾ tsp cream of tartar
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
½ tsp granulated garlic (optional)
¾ cup butter, cold, cut into cubes
1 large egg
1 cup buttermilk
2 cups sharp cheddar, shredded (old white cheddar plus old cheddar is a great combo)
¼–½ cup fresh herbs, chopped
- any combo: parsley and chives is my favourite, but thyme, sage, and rosemary work too; freeze-dried herbs are fine

Method

Heat the oven to 230°C (450°F). Line a baking sheet with parchment.

Chef John’s hamburger buns

Mon, 08 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Based on a recipe from Fooooood Wishes Dot Com. If you didn’t sing that in your head, go find John’s videos on YouTube and watch them until you do.

Even on your first try, these buns are better than what you can find in most markets, mostly because they’re fresh and you have to work for them.

English muffins

Mon, 08 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Simple English muffins that I very occasionally make to feed my McMuffin cravings.

Note: I’m still tuning this recipe.

Ingredients

1¾ cups lukewarm milk
2¼ tsp (1 package) yeast
4½ cups flour
3 tbsp butter, softened
1¼ tsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
1 large egg
Cornmeal or semolina, for dusting

Method

Stir the milk, yeast, and ½ cup of the flour together in a large bowl. Let stand at least 10 minutes, up to 24 hours. Longer bloom times develop more funk (flavour).

Grandma Ferguson’s buns

Mon, 08 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The buns are soft and perfect for turkey sandwiches.

Ingredients

Starter

2 packages (about 15 g) instant yeast
1 scant cup warm water
3 tsp white sugar

Dough

3 cups white flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp salt
1 scant cup sugar
1 scant cup boiling water

Method

Stir the yeast, warm water, and 3 tsp sugar together. Let stand until frothy, about 10 minutes.

Lazy pizza dough (2022)

Mon, 08 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Some days I just want an easy pizza dough. I don’t want it 3 days from now, I just know I have food in the fridge that needs to be used up, and a pizza is the most palatable way to do it. This recipe is based on a Serious Eats recipe, and I start it after coffee in the morning on the weekend. So, like 11:30AM.

No-knead pizza dough

Mon, 08 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Pizza with less effort, what’s not to like? A long rise time results in a deeper flavour.

Mechanic

Adapted from my traditional and very knead-y pizza dough, which we discovered by accident that one time when we somehow left it in a cupboard for a few days. It turns out we weren’t the first ones to discover this, and it’s a fantastic way of making doughs in general.

Oma’s kipfels

Mon, 08 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A Kipfel is traditionally a crescent-shaped yeast bread, one of the oldest styles of pastries.

Ann and the kids visited Oma to make these for a school project that Jayda was doing on family heritage, measuring everything from memory. This is an approximation of her method.

Paska buns

Mon, 08 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This is a family recipe, a classic European bun.

When Ann was growing up, her Great Oma Hamm (Oma Rille’s mom) would make Paska bread for Easter. When Great Oma passed away, her recipes disappeared with her as she never wrote anything down. She had her recipes memorized and the measurements were done with her hands. I miss the family traditions of holiday baking and am hoping this recipe brings back some nostalgia.

Pizza dough 2021 edition

Mon, 08 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This is an improved dough tuned to work easily with a 6 L stand mixer. It’s high-hydration and can be sticky, but the extra water provides a better ferment and lift. It also works well for focaccia with more oil in the pan and whatever toppings you enjoy.

Pizza dough 2022 edition

Mon, 08 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This is another iteration of my pizza dough recipe, based on some experimentation in late 2021. This is a medium-high hydration dough, optionally reinforced with additional gluten for structure and chew. I skip the autolyse step now, which I’ve replaced with a longer cold rise time. This recipe is based on Flour Water Salt Yeast, with gluten ratios lifted from recipes at Serious Eats (aiming at ~13–14% protein).

Ultimate every-bun recipe

Mon, 08 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This is a pretty-much-any bun recipe based on Joshua Weissman’s famous multipurpose dough. It’s soft, and works for burger, dinner, hot dog buns, and likely other softish buns.

Mechanic

A tangzhong, a paste of flour cooked with water and cream, pre-gelatinizes the starch before it ever meets the yeast. That lets the dough hold more liquid than a straight-kneaded one without turning slack, which is what keeps these buns soft for days instead of just on the day they’re baked.

Hoagie rolls

Sat, 18 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Soft, chewy hoagie rolls built for serious sandwiches. A hoagie roll is a sort of baguette for sub-style sandwiches, and these swap in for beef dips, subs, po’ boys, or even hamburger buns (halved). They have body and a bit of crust, and hold up to robust fillings.

Naan

Tue, 01 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Naan is a simple, delicious bread, best covered with garlic and ghee.

Mechanic

Yogurt is the key acid and tenderizer: it produces the slight tang and soft interior that sets naan apart from other flatbreads. Portioning into 100 g balls and cold-proofing overnight gives the dough time to develop flavour and makes the bread easier to roll and cook.

Pizza dough

Sat, 01 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0000

This is my original pizza dough recipe, based on my memory of doughs I made in restaurants.

Mechanic

The vital wheat gluten supplements bread flour to push gluten content higher, producing a chewier crumb and stronger structure than all-purpose flour alone. A cold ferment of 24–48 hours develops flavour. The autolyse (30-minute rest before adding salt) speeds gluten development.