Dutch Crunch Demi-Baguettes

This unique looking bread gets its name from the crunchy topping and the pattern it makes. The bread is popular in San Francisco, but it's originally from the Netherlands, where it's called tiger bread. Hence the name, Dutch Crunch. It's used for sandwiches, and every deli and sandwich shop in the city offers it. The topping is made from rice flour and yeast and is piped on to the baguette before baking. It dries in the oven and leaves a striped crunchy exterior, which is a nice complement to the soft bread. 

Pain-au-lait Pullman loaf

Another bread recipe baked in a loaf pan, this one uses the Pullman pan, named for the Pullman train car. The story is that these flat lidded pans were designed specifically to fit on the train, allowing room for 3 pans instead of 2 regular pans, where the bread bakes up rounded. The bread we made this week in such pans is a pain au lait, which means bread of milk. However, this recipe uses cream cheese instead of milk, so it should really be called pain au fromage à la crème. It has a delicate crumb, perfect for toasting. The shape of the bread makes it ideal for sandwiches, and the possibilities are only limited by your imagination and pantry. It's an easy bread to make, good for beginners and pros alike. 

Nanterre

Nanterre is a town in France but also a delicious loaf of brioche bread. We've made brioche before in the book (craquelins, hot cross buns, and sticky buns), but this is the first of the brioche recipes to be classified as a bread. The dough is divided and rolled into balls, which are placed in loaf pans to rise. The end result is a beautiful loaf of eggy, buttery brioche. The French Laundry used to pair this with foie gras, but since it's been banned in California, instead Thomas Keller recommends using it for the ultimate BLT sandwich. Either way, it's an indulgent treat. 

Vegetable Demi-Baguettes

This rather unique bread uses vegetable stock instead of water to hydrate the dough. It gives the bread a fantastic flavor, rich and fragrant. It's meant to be the perfect complement for a summer tomato, but it would pair well with any fresh veggies, and maybe some soft cheeses as well. The combinations are deliciously endless!

Whole Wheat Pecan Demi-Baguettes

The book says that this bread was created specifically to complement roast turkey. The dough has brown butter and brown sugar, but no starter. It relies only on commercial yeast for leavening, the first to do so in this chapter. The result is a dense, sweet dough, studded with pecans. It has a rich and wholesome flavor perfect for a turkey sandwich.