bread!

as i type, my third loaf of bread in three days is baking away in my oven.

this is significant because bread-making has been on my list of do-it-myselfs for about a year.  and finally i did it!  there will be no negative self-talk about procrastination.  go me!  (next up: juicing.  ssshhhh  don't tell my brother i haven't mastered the juicer he gave me yet.  i have admired it, it is one cool looking machine.)


i wanted to bake bread because it is terribly difficult to purchase bread that contains neither dairy nor high fructose corn syrup.  when i looked up a bread recipe i was shocked to find that a simple bread recipe contained only four ingredients:
flour
water
yeast
salt
and yet most bread on grocery store shelves has a long and largely (to me) objectionable list of ingredients.  my choice each week for bread for my family came down to the local grocery store's "natural" choice bakery bread or driving 30 minutes into houston to whole foods or central market.

once i finally did make the bread i was even more surprised by how good it really was!  the bread is not technically special in any way.  i can't imagine a more simple recipe. it is so easy, the loaf i put in the oven tonight literally took me less than 60 seconds of work.  it rose while i edited some photos and argued with greyson that he has to blow snot out, not suck it in.  it will bake for 30 minutes while dinner cooks.  and yet it will be delicious and perfect.  i would choose it every time over the bread i was buying at the natural food store.

three days into bread-making and i am having fantasies about becoming a baker and selling long baguettes around town from my bicycle basket..... 

all credit for the bread goes to the fantastic book, Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day.  i can't wait to try more than the basic recipe.  and i've already purchased the follow up, Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day.  if you've ever thought about baking bread you should go buy this book too.  or buy bread from me, i'll take orders if i can keep my husband from eating it all.