I am a bread maker!

Yes, little old me.  I baked my first loaf of bread this past weekend.... and I must say it turned out great!  Seriously, good bread.  My lunch time turkey sandwiches are SO much better this week.

I have always been a member of the "what is the point of making bread when I can just as easily buy it at the store" camp... actually its easier to buy it the store.  There are no dishes to wash after a trip to the store... no flour covered kitchen to clean up... no 7 minutes of kneading or 3 hours of proofing... nope just a trip to the store and you have bread for a week. 

Oh, but that is so not the same type of bread... so not the same joy.  Even the mess was well worth it and the kneading was therapeutic.  I could definitely spend another Sunday afternoon making that mess... in fact, perhaps I will the next time I find myself sitting with nothing to do and looking for an adventure! 

For those of you that care the recipe I used is from my go-to cook book:  Better Homes and Gardens "New Cook Book".  I have the 14th edition and I must say its a good basic recipe source with lots of hints and tips thrown in.   I made the Whole Wheat Bread that is found on page 144 of my edition.  I started to type up the recipe, but to tell the truth that seems like it might be part of their copyright infringement... so I figured I better do some more research first!  =)

I went with the whole wheat, because that is the type of flour that I had.  In order to get more whole wheat into everything I make, I use a 50/50 blend of all purpose flour and whole wheat flour.  I buy a big bag of each and just pre-mix them when I get home into my big old flour canister.  That way its there and ready to go when I need it.  I have yet to run into a recipe that did like or even noticed the whole wheat mixed in! 

Ummm, I could go for another slice of bread right now.....

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