Adventures in Bread

Never, has it ever crossed my mind to make my own bread.

A few times I may have had a fleeting thought about getting one of those fancy bread makers, but nothing has ever come of this idea.

But for whatever reason, last week while I was out shopping I stopped in front of the baking section and the yeast packages started to stare at me. I never really noticed them before, but today they were all I could see.

I took this to be a sign, grabbed a few and checked out.

Back at home I grabbed my trusty La Dolce Vegan and flipped through until I found this: Easy French Bread.  It seemed really straight forward, with a long, but not overly involved process.

So I jumped in and was up to my wrists in bread dough before I knew it. It was so enjoyable to see it come together and start to resemble ... bread.

After letting it rise, pounding the crap out of it again and then shaping it, it was time for the oven. The oven
scared me the most since mine is beyond temperamental. I kept a close eye on the bread at the last 10 minutes or so, not wanting to burn it at the very end.

Time for the oven!

What came out was a stunning, crispy on the outside, soft (but a bit gummy and dense, so I clearly have work to do on my skills) on the inside. It was awesome. I was so proud of my self. I made bread from scratch. Gold Star for Me

Once I perfect the Easy French Bread I want to move onto raisin and pumpernickel ... and maybe eventually rye.

Ooooooh let the adventures in bread begin!

Freshly Baked