a second attempt at first bread



the president's day holiday gave me a little extra time on my hands.  so i decided to give homemade breadmaking another try...because my first attempt did not go so well.

 

i don't know when, if, or how others learn to make bread from scratch, but i find it a bit strange that this 31 year-old had to resort to youtube tutorials and "yahoo answers" for training on a common homemaking practice.  naturally, most of my cooking and baking abilities were taught to me at a very young age from my grandmother and mother.  i've learned to get a little more creative and adventurous with recipes by watching a whole lot of food network.  and finally i've had to adjust my knowledge of early culinary teachings to concoct delicious, satisfying, yet healthy meals for my health-conscious hubby.  this means substituting ground beef for ground turkey, white rice for brown rice, white flour for whole wheat, vegetable oil for olive oil, margarine for real butter (while also limiting the amount used), and processed foods for...well, foods made from scratch.

 

so after brandon gifted me a kitchenaid stand mixer this past christmas, i was left to my devices to produce even more yumminess - from scratch, that is.  and so i finally thought to myself, gosh darnit, it's about time that i learned how to make our own bread.



 

after watching numerous amounts of youtube vids on the basics over several weeks time, i felt confident enough to give it a whirl.  so like i said - that first time i tried to make it...was the ultimate fail.  i'm not sure what i did wrong, maybe the water i used wasn't warm enough for the yeast, perhaps i didn't knead the dough enough, i don't know.  but i have to admit that it was kind of discouraging to throw big rocks of whole wheat into the trash because you failed.

but yesterday i figured, WTH - practice makes perfect, right?  so the measuring, mixing, kneading, and rising went into play.  and i'm now pleased to present: my perfect little loaf of fresh, whole wheat, homemade bread...from scratch!

and although i don't think my grandma nor my mother meant to exclude this essential homemaking skill, i vow to spend a little time with my little girl in our little kitchen showing her how to make a little loaf of bread.