Crostini, called in France Croutons, are small slim slices of toasted bread. They are served with different toppings: pâtés, rillettes, and spreads and make a fabulous canape or aperitivo with a drink. Ideal crostini are bite-size, made from a stale baguette, brushed with olive oil or butter, and baked in the oven until golden. Once you discover how to make crostini/croutons, you will never again resort to store-bought varieties. I serve my little crusty rounds with homemade Vegetable Spread, Pork Pâté and Duck Rillettes. Find the recipe here…

This round flatbread with a pocket inside originated within communities west of the Mediterranean Sea and is considered the oldest type of bread in the world. Pita Bread is made from yeast-leavened wheat dough and baked at high temperatures in the oven or on a cast-iron skillet. It goes well with meat, cheese, and grilled and raw vegetables. The pita also makes an excellent starter when served with sauces and dips such as hummus, baba ghanush, and tzatziki. My homemade Pita Bread puffs up beautifully and forms the signature interior pocket you can fill with anything you like. Find the recipe here…

I love this recipe and this flatbread because it is delicious and relatively easy to make. It only requires 4 ingredients, a bit of kneading, and some resting time to get fluffy rounds. No yeast, no baking powder, no elaborate method and no long waiting time. The flatbread is soft and pliable. It can be used as a wrap stuffed with baked or fresh vegetables, meat, and beans and topped with a sauce – whatever comes to your mind and whatever you fancy. Soft homemade flatbread is better than store-bought ones. Find the recipe here...

This soft and slightly sweet bread is perfect for sandwiches and toast. The dough enriched with milk and butter can also make many different types of rolls, such as hamburger or hot dog buns. You can refrigerate the dough overnight, just after kneading and bake it the next day. It's called slow rise and helps develop the dough's flavour. However, it can be risen and baked the same day - both methods work and make delicious bread. Find the recipe here…

Politiko Simiti are braided circular sesame-crusted bread rings. They're a fuller version of traditional Greek and Turkish bagels - Koulouri and Simiti and originate from the Greek bakers of Constantinople. Politiko Simiti are coated with petimezi – grape sweet molasses that creates caramelisation in the oven, with toasted sesame seeds and then baked. They're crunchy outside, soft and a bit gooey inside. Simiti can be served plain, with jam or cheese such as feta and olives. Traditionally the bagels are baked the same day after a two-stage rise but I kept them in the fridge overnight to get their flavour developed and have the texture lighter. Find the recipe here

This is a menu for a casual come-and-go gathering on Halloween Night or after Trick-Or-Treating. Neither creepy nor spooky but frightfully delicious and based on seasonal and autumnal products. Here there are Orange Vivid Squash Soup served with Hot Parmesan Biscuits that warms up, filling Hot Pork Empanaditas, delicious Mushroom Tartlets for foodies and sweet aromatic Apple Muffins that are loved by everyone and always turn out well. The courses of the menu are quite simple but need some time to be prepared. Some of them can be made in advance. Find the recipes for perfectly arranged Halloween Dinner Menu here…

There is nothing better than homemade challah bread. A freshly baked loaf is so delicious that calls only for butter, while the leftover bread makes wonderful French toasts and delicious Bostock served with almond cream and berries. Challah, the braided Sabbath bread is made with the enriched yeasted dough which contains oil and eggs. The generous use of eggs gives challah a beautiful deep golden crust and exquisite flavour. This bread doesn’t require any special techniques although its braided form may look complicated. The dough is quite versatile and can be used to make any other baked goods such as dinner buns and cinnamon rolls. Find the recipe here…

As a snack – perfect. For dipping – even better. Crispy Italian Breadsticks widely called Grissini, are served in restaurants as an appetizer accompanied by antipasti such as olives, cheese and cured meat. They are made of flour, yeast, water and olive oil, shaped by hand and baked in high temperature ideally in a wood-burning oven. Breadsticks are essentially all delicious golden-brown crust and that beautiful crust makes them so addictive. Make grissini at home as a party nibble.  Bake them as you like - plain or flavoured, sprinkled with sesame seeds, poppy seeds or sea salt before baking. Serve with favourite hummus or cocktails. Find the recipe here…

I always wanted to make bagels. I searched for many recipes which I tried and never was happy with the result. The bagels were flat, wrinkled and doughy. But I finally found the perfect recipe in a book of Peter Reinhart and also found out that dough is the key. Bagels need to be made of stiff dough to float in the boiling water without losing the shape at the same time. This recipe doesn’t require any special skills, ingredients or tools. The most important thing is to follow the instructions and your bagels will be deliciously chewy with a thin wonderful crust. Serve them fresh out of the oven with soft cheese, smoked salmon or just butter. Find the recipe here...

Perfect hummus is not a five-minute job. You have to put a little work in to get a marvellous result. Dried chickpeas, soaked in cold water overnight and then cooked, are essential and can never be replaced by canned ones. There are no substitutes for fresh garlic and freshly squeezed lemon juice, giving the hummus a citrusy flavour. Nutty and lightly bitter Tahini should be as fresh as possible, and its flavour in the mixture is only perceptible. Fresh hummus with paprika sprinkles and olive oil drizzle is the best. Serve with flatbread, crusty toasts or as a dip for fresh vegs. Find the recipe here…

A cast iron pot is perfect for making crusty golden artisan-style bread at home. The pot with its thick walls and a tight lid is a moisture-sealed chamber which traps steam and provides a temperature-stable baking environment. Moisture is important during the early stage of baking because allows the bread to rise fully. It creates this beautiful shiny crispy crust outside and let the interior of bread be white and soft. The crusty white bread requires a bit of work and time but its flavour and smell is worth this effort. It is the best just after cooling when the crust is fresh and very crispy. Find the recipe here… 

This bread has a divine firm close-grained crumb and golden soft crust. It can be used for sandwiches, toasts, French toasts and croutons. In French bakeries, white sandwich bread (pain de mie in French) is usually formed and baked in special covered moulds to get absolutely symmetrical loaves. That helps to make perfect slices which are essential for professional-looking canapes or fancy sandwiches. I baked my bread in a straight-sided uncovered tin which made the loaf look more conventional. Find the recipe here...

This is my everyday bread. Very comforting, healthy, delicious and far different from what is mostly available now in local shops. You can buy the sourdough loaves in many artisan bakeries across London, they are decent but unfortunately pretty expensive. Making the sourdough bread at home is neither costly nor difficult however requires a bit of patience, effort and experience. You can read a lot of recipes on the Internet and in cook books but the sourdough bread is something you learn by doing. Anyway, you need to start somehow so let’s get started together. Find the recipe here...