Ava Miles - Home Baked Happiness: Recipes and Reflections on Home and Happiness

Home Baked Happiness

Recipes and Reflections

on Home and Happiness

by

Ava Miles

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To all of the readers who begged me for a baking cookbook. Thank you for treasuring my stories and our mutual love of food. You are my home baked happiness in more ways than you can know.

To my family and all of the happy meals ahead

And to French Chef and my divine entourage for continuing to show me home baked happiness starts inside and is a miracle to be shared with ourselves and others.

I often remember my grandmother when Im cooking since she taught me. But its more than that. Cooking with her was usually loving and happy. From the time I could help her, I felt the love gracing her kitchen. Her recipe box was packed with special treats written from women in the family who had passed away but whose memory she still kept alive. Shed tell me stories about my great-grandmother, who had the touch and could always make mouth-wateringand fillingmeals for her family of twelve.

I loved to see all of these womens handwriting on the recipe cards wed pull out for a meal. Recipes take on a new meaning when theyre passed down this way. We remember the deceased loved one who gave us this recipe. We smile when we share it with other people. We get to share a story about, say, our grandma, who used to make this cake or that cookie every Christmas Eve or that birthday.

Cooking connects us to love.

And home.

~ Excerpt from Avas Goddesses Eat

Growing up, baking was part of home. I didnt realize how special it was until my friends came over to play and would gasp with giddiness at the awesome bucket of cookies, the piping hot cinnamon rolls, and the golden-crusted pies at our house.

Of course now I know baking was the way the women in my family created a home. Baking was a way of showing love. Baked good were bite-sized happiness.

When I set off into the world on my own, Id make family recipes when I was homesick. When my grandma passed away, Id bake the recipes shed taught me. Those happy times would filter through my memory as I sat down and enjoyed the delicious treat Id made.

Now I have a home of my ownand since baking makes me so happy, it makes others happy too. Its not just the mouthwatering treats. Its the jovial atmosphere in the kitchen. Its the connection as we dance and cook together.

Its the home baked happiness.

~ Savory Breads ~

Once everyone had a glass, Andre raised his to her. To Margie from America. May she learn to bake bread like a Frenchman.

French woman, ma cherie, Belle said, nudging him in the ribs.

As you wish, he said with a laugh. To making the bread of life.

The words held a spiritual significance shed never fully understood before. Bread was life. Shed known that for some time. Now she understood the deeper nuances of that statement. Bread did give life. It had given her life. And now she wanted to share that life with otherslike she had with Evan. Her new knowledge humbled her mightily.

To making the bread of life, she said and connected their glasses in the toast.

~ Excerpt from Avas Dare Valley Meets Paris Billionaire

Some might assert that fire was the first magical creation on earth, but Id say bread was a close second

Nothing feels like home more than bread. My fascination and love for bread baking started young. I was raised by women who made bread for their family and friends, and it was something I wanted to learn and share with those I loved. Theres a special magic to making bread rise, of filling it with delicious ingredients and wrapping it up tight. Piping hot it comes out of the oven to tempt. Steam swirls up like mist from its luscious texture. With every bite, I always feel transformed. The sensory experience nourishes my very soul and reminds me of home. And it makes me happy.

Ive studied at my grandmothers side and with a leading baker in Paris, the city where bread fills the imagination everywhere through sparkling store-front windows. As my own woman now, I make breads from the past and ones new to me as a way of sharing love and experiencing the magic made by mixing yeast, water, and four, and other ingredients. Bread can be so simple. It can be so involved. Regardless, the result is always the same: magnificent.

Avas French Bread

If there is one thing I fully understand about French bread after studying with a baker, its that every persons French bread is a particular to them. Perhaps more than any other bread, this one seems to radiate the contents of your soul. These days, I make a huge batch of French bread, shape the loaves, and freeze whatever Im not going to bake that day. This recipe is perfect for that. And it makes it all the easier when you want to have fresh bread, but dont feel like making it.

Allow yourself to expand as a bread maker with this recipe. In the beginning, when the yeast and I were still becoming friends, my bread didnt seem to rise as high as those in a French bakery. But I stuck with it. I listened to the dough with my hands and my heart. I experimented with different cooking techniques. I finally settled on baking the bread on a pizza stone. Now, when you cut into one of my loaves, its crusty on the outside and light and airy on the inside. That accomplishment makes me happy. After all, what signifies home-baked happiness better than French bread?

2 tablespoons yeast

1 tablespoons salt

3 cups warm water

6 cups flour

Measure out the yeast and the salt and then add the water. Stir until everything has incorporated. Let proof for 10-15 minutes until the mixture is bubbly on the top. Add the flour, mixing thoroughly. Let rise for one hour until the bread has doubled in size. Turn onto a floured surface and knead a little more until the bread is smooth in texture and not sticky. At this point, you may have bubbles in your dough. Thats a good thing!

Shape into loaves. Again, use your imagination. You can make a classic loaf shape or a circle (by pinching the ends together). The baker I trained with even braids the bread like you would hair, and it comes out beautifully. I only do this when Im feeling inspired. I typically use a razor blade to cut the diagonal slices in the top of the bread. Ive found that even my sharp knives dont deliver the kind of cut I want. Experiment with what works for you. Most of all have fun!

Focaccia Bread

Few breads are as tantalizing as focaccia, especially when the rosemary is picked straight from your own garden. Serve this with a summer salad or a side of pasta and let the aromatic bread lighten your heart.

Bread

2 teaspoons yeast

1 cups warm water

cup olive oil

2 teaspoons salt

3 cups flour

Mix the top four ingredients until the yeast is dissolved. Let the mixture proof for 15 minutes until the yeast bubbles on top. Then mix the flour into the bread. Let rise for one hour. Then roll out onto a floured surface and form the dough into a round disc.

Topping

Touch of olive oil

2 tablespoons rosemary

2 teaspoons coarse salt

Once you have shaped the bread to your satisfaction, brush the dough with olive oil and shake the rosemary and salt on top. Let rise for another 30-40 minutes. Bake at 425 degrees for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.