BTW vickstersb,
How did your Christmas rolls turn out?

Good idea!

Unfortunately, my rolls were the only semi-failure of the dinner. I decided not to make them the night before because I realized I didn't really have that much to do the day of the dinner so would have plenty of time to deal with them. And I didn't have room in the fridge for the dough. My problem was that my yeast was bad! They hardly rose, but they weren't too terrible. I am ready to delve into Flour Water Salt Yeast. I recently got the book, and a new Staub 4 qt dutch oven for Christmas. I am thinking of getting a proofing basket. And I am going to read through your comments again on the recipes!

I am sorry that your rolls were less than perfect. I would like to offer two suggestions, if I may. Use only SAF Red Instant Yeast and keep it in a small French or Italian glass canning jars- the kind with the latched lid and rubber seal. Labeled with the expiration date and stored in the freezer. Freezing it goes against Ken Forkish's advice, but I have done it for years and have never had a problem.
Consider baking the rolls the day before and reheating them just before serving- no stress.
Good news about FWSY! Iwill look forward to reading your posts as you make the breads. And congratulations on the Staub- I know you will love it! Happy New Year!

I am sorry to hear about your rolls. I wanted to chime in and also mention that I use the same yeast as Bill mentioned (SAF Red instant) and store much of it in the freezer except for the small jar I keep in my fridge which is the one I scoop from whenever I'm baking. Then when that's empty I refill from the freezer and have been doing this for years with no problem.

I'm so excited you will be baking from FWSY too. I am really loving the flavor of the breads and pizzas I've made from this book so I'm happy that you'll be along the same bread adventure so we can share our experiences. :D

As for the January selection, I am suggesting selecting Madhur Jaffrey as the author and exploring any recipes by her from any of her cookbook collections. I'm open to other suggestions as well.

I like your suggestion of Madhur Jaffrey, Lisa. I also like the idea of a monthly or even a two month long author opposed to a cookbook. That will allow greater participation for those of us who don't own or have access to, a particular cookbook.

Thanks for the suggestions on yeast, both of you. I did actually just purchase the SAF Red instant yeast. And I will store in the freezer. I used to do that, but read Ken Forkish's advice against it, but glad to hear you both have success with the freezer.

I also like the suggestion of Madhur Jaffrey. I have a few of her books and could use some motivation to get into them more.

If I can tear myself away from Jerusalem, I would be up for Madhur Jaffrey. Happy New Year!

Trisha, I'm still on Plenty! LOL! I have Jerusalem but, unfortunately, I didn't find a lot that I wanted to make from it on my first pass through. I think it's because I'm vegetarian and it's a very meat-centered book (and also the high use of sesame products in Middle Eastern cooking, which I can't use because of my son's allergies) though maybe it was because I was gearing up for e holidays when I to a look and was focused elsewhere. I will eagerly watch for your reviews to see how the recipes are turning out for you. Maybe I need to take another look at this book, as I love Ottolenghi's other books.

Chef_ub, if I go through it again and still don't find much inspiration to get in the kitchen, I will gladly send the cookbook your way if you haven't bought it by then. :)

I am working my way through Jerusalem and love it. (Lisa--I am a vegetarian as well and am finding many wonderful veg options--although sesame is highly present.) Madhur Jaffrey is also amazing. Ditto on the author idea. I am in.

Lisa, I haven't finished with Plenty either...just set it aside for a bit. ;) Take another look at Jerusalem though. Mm is right about the veg recipes... Also, while there is lots of sesame, I think you could do some workarounds, like making your own za'atar blend omitting sesame (maybe not traditional but would still be delicious). There is lots of tahini, but a lot of it comes in the form of sauce that I bet could be subbed with a yogurt sauce instead.