In the Kitchen | Bread is a passion for New Albany shopowner

Laura Buckingham spent eight years in the Marine Corps, taking part in counter piracy operations in Somalia and joining a humanitarian mission in Bangladesh. As she traveled throughout Europe and the Middle East, she fell in love with traveling. Toward the end of her enlistment, she toyed with cooking and baking.

She also discovered her true passion: bread.

“I began to realize what an important role bread plays in culture. Again and again, in many countries, I observed people mingling and enjoying themselves over bread and cheese plates. A whole new world opened up to me. Coming back to the United States and eating store-bought bread that had no flavor or texture was a shock,” she said.

Buckingham now is the owner of Bread & Breakfast in downtown New Albany.

When she read the long list of ingredients in packaged breads, she decided to take things literally into her own hands and make her own. She was intimidated initially by the process because she didn’t know the first thing about bread making. She had to consult Google for the proper way to knead dough. She didn’t upgrade to a 4-quart mixer until about a year into her eye-opening bread making experiences.

“A relative offered me $5 for one of my loaves. I thought, are you serious?” She added, “When other people began suggesting I open a shop, I thought they were crazy.”

Working out of a kitchenette in a trailer donated by the First Southern Baptist Church, she set up business with a canopy and a table on the side of U.S. 150. She would bake three days straight before taking a day off. Once she started selling her breads at farmers markets, the pace increased in a frenzied acceleration.

“When I was pregnant with my son I had an insane nesting instinct,” she said. “I was baking, cooking and cleaning every minute. It never went away. I have obsessively baked ever since.”

Now she lives with 1½-year-old Bryton above the shop she opened in November. There she sells breads, pastries and breakfast items.

“I like to do weird breads,” she said. “Because I have never had formal training, I don’t have a level of appropriateness and I have no restraints.”

Very fond of pepperoni pizza with banana peppers, she mixed those ingredients with Italian herbs for ciabatta with a signature twist. Another venture had her adding cocoa and bacon to scones. That, too, was a good move, as was putting an uncooked cinnamon roll on a waffle griddle. However, pickles and cranberries weren’t a good flavor combo.

Saying she never showed early signs of being a domestic diva, she never tires of being in the kitchen, especially her own kitchen, where she cooks dinner every night for Bryton and herself. Vegetables are a mainstay of their diet, finding their way into smoothies for lunch and in many dinner dishes.

“He likes spaghetti squash. He hasn’t figured out that vegetable noodles aren’t pasta,” she says. That doesn’t mean hers is a vegetarian kitchen. From all accounts, her chicken and dumplings are the things of dreams.

But back to bread. “I’ve never used a cookbook but I’d like to eventually write a book on the true art and science of bread making,” she says. “Country breads are beginning to bore me. I’m interested in learning to do more European-type breads. They’re a two-day process. The difference is ultimately the crunchy crust. But whatever style people like, I want them to start craving good bread.”

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cupcakes

2 ½ cups rolled oats

½ teaspoon salt

3 packets stevia

(or 2 ½ tablespoons liquid sweetener such as pure maple syrup or agave)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup mini chocolate chips (or peanut butter chips)

Ground flax or wheat germ, raisins, dates, pecans, coconut and nutmeg (optional and to taste)

1 cup over-ripe mashed banana (measured after mashing)

1 1/3 cups water

1/8 cup vegetable oil (or coconut oil for a healthier alternative)

1 ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line 12 cupcake holders with liners. In a large mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients. In another bowl, mix together wet ingredients (including banana). Mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Pour into cupcake liners. Bake 21 minutes. Makes 12 cupcakes.

Butternut Squash Soup

6 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Crushed garlic to taste

6 tablespoons chopped onion

4 tablespoons butter

1 apple ( preferably Honey Crisp)

3 cups water

¼ cup chicken stock

½ teaspoon dried marjoram

1/3 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (or to taste)

2 8-ounce packages cream cheese (calorie counters may substitute with yogurt)

Pinch of nutmeg

Pinch of cinnamon

Zest of fresh ginger (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Rub cut side of squash with olive oil, salt, pepper and crushed garlic. Bake 40 minutes. In a large saucepan, sauté onions in butter until tender. Add squash, apple, water, stock, marjoram, black pepper, cayenne pepper and ginger, if using. Bring to boil, cook 20 minutes. In a blender or food processor, puree squash and cream in batches until smooth. To blend flavors, place the mixture in a saucepan and heat 10 minutes. Don’t allow to boil. Serves 6.

20 Jalapeño Wontons

1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened

3 to 4 jalapeños (4-ounce jar) OR

replace with green chilies if you prefer to avoid the heat

20 3 ½-inch square wonton wrappers

¼ cup mozzarella cheese

¼ teaspoon onion powder

¾ teaspoon garlic salt

1/8 teaspoon sugar

Lemon juice, cayenne, pepper, Anaheim pepper (hot!) or bacon (optional)

vegetable oil

Dipping Sauce: 1/2 cup sweet chili sauce (or try Sriracha and honey)

In a medium size bowl, stir together cream cheese and jalapenos. Add mozzarella, onion powder, garlic salt, sugar and any optional ingredients. Place about a teaspoon of the mixture onto the center of each wonton wrapper. Trace the edges of the wonton wrappers with your fingers that have been moistened in water. Fold into triangles. May be refrigerated or frozen for later use.

Bring oil to medium-high heat in a large skillet or pan. Fry wontons a few at a time until

golden brown. Place on paper towels to drain. Accompany with sweet chili sauce. Makes 20.

Bakery Morale (Bourbon Honey Punch)

Whole milk

Wheated bourbon

1 tablespoon pure and local maple syrup per 8 ounces of punch

Mix together all the ingredients. The ratios of milk to bourbon depend on your position in life!