Currently baking from The Art & Soul of Baking by Cindy Mushet.

Cinnamon, raisins and rosemary? The combination was intriguing enough that I had to try it. And guess what? It totally works. This may be my new favorite bread. Warm from the oven and smeared with butter, this was foodie heaven. Mushet also says that leftovers can be toasted or used to make a stuffing for roasted pork loin. Seriously, I don’t think we’ll have to worry about any leftovers.

I was starting to worry that I wouldn’t find a home run recipe in this book. I’ve really liked parts of certain recipes (the caramel sauce from the Peanut Butter Thumbprints comes to mind), but nothing has blown me away. This one did.

While the focaccia was baking, the house smelled just like cinnamon raisin bread, but every so often, you’d get a whiff of rosemary. I was worried that the herb would overpower the other flavors, but it doesn’t. The rosemary really makes this bread special, giving it a complexity that it wouldn’t otherwise have. And the raisins give the bread just the right amount of sweetness. I don’t think I’d change a thing, and that’s pretty high praise coming from me.

Note: My work is starting to pick up, which means I’ll be traveling for the next couple of weeks. I’ve got a couple of posts in the can, but I’ll be posting a little less than I have been. Keep checking back, though; I love the comments.