Pull out your beret and get your black-and-white striped boat-neck t-shirt — we’re making a basic French baguette.

This is the bread that we all look forward to eating when we go out to a restaurant or that we expect to see slung under the arm of Parisians out doing their daily shopping: a simple baguette with fabulous flavor, smooth and chewy texture, and the best crust. This delicious traditional bread is anything but fancy, containing nothing more than flour water, yeast and salt. Make often and eat fresh, as without any fat, these breads have little staying power… but that won’t be a problem, as they will most certainly be devoured well before they’re past their prime.

There is nothing quite as satisfying as making bread. Especially if it’s the nourishing traditional bread of European Jewish peoples known as “challah,” eaten on Shabbat and Jewish holidays (except Passover, when leavened bread is not allowed). Challah is a rich, eggy, and deliciously tender yeast-leavened bread that’s surprisingly easy to make, and quite fun to shape, as it is typically braided, which makes for a beautiful presentation.

In addition to taking significantly less time to make than traditional yeast-leavened breads,  Irish soda bread has the most delicious crunchy crust, yielding a rich, chewy interior that will incite the urge to bang out loaves of this yummy quick bread on a regular basis.  Crafted from simple ingredients sure to be found in every kitchen, this moist, dense, cheese- and onion-infused soda bread is virtually a meal unto itself. Let’s call this one a shout-out to my maternal great-grandmother, a red-headed Irish-Newfie.