I own - and still bake from - both Tassajara and Beard on Bread. I also owned one of the first home bread machines available in the US and have replaced it twice with more modern versions. My standard, everyday bread is a personalized riff on the KAF Vermont Whole Wheat Oatmeal Honey bread, which I've got down to the point of 'weigh everything into pan, push Start, wait for the beep - and the smell...' I don't have a sourdough starter going at the moment, but I've done that, too, and kept it alive for years. And I make seasonal breads (stollen, Kings cake with praline filling, hot cross buns, paloma de Pasqua, hamburger and hot dog buns, etc.) either by hand or using the dough setting. When I was working, I didn't bake as often, but I never stopped completely, and now that I'm retired, I almost never buy bread, even from one of the good artisan bakeries we have around. I even have a recipe that makes a similar bun to this recipe, except mine was originally from the Il Fornaio baking book - yes, I have that one, too. It uses candied citrus peel instead of raisins; I'll have to try it with pine nuts. It is my considered opinion (as an unreformed 'brown rice, crunchy granola' product of the '60s) that most 'white food' is not only less nutritious but downright boring. And also that kneading can be extremely therapeutic, almost a Zen practice (see, Tassajara!) especially after a long, difficult day.

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