In December, I decided to (finally) use a gift card I had for a cooking class at The Gourmandise School in Santa Monica.

Most all the classes that interested me were filled up, but being as I had recently been experimenting with simple breads, the Holiday Breads class seemed to be an excellent choice. As a bonus, I could then use my new skills to bake gifts for my friends over the holidays. The class was taught by chef Clémence Gossett, and was super—really wonderful.

We started with a simple Focaccia bread, which basically uses the same dough that I use for my basic boule, just spread out on the pan with liberal amounts of olive oil and salt. Plus any herbs, olives, or cheese you feel like adding.

Rosemary Focaccia:

Next, we started on the more complex Pannetone and Stöllen. Both breads are filled with dried fruits, raisins, candied orange rinds and nuts. And butter.

Stöllen:

           Pannetone:

Cranberry Pumpkin bread: