so, i made bread for the first time in my life last night. like, late last night. i wasn't done with everything until well after midnight. totally worth it, though.
it's a simple white bread recipe (all-purpose flour, salt, sugar, yeast and water) that i mixed dill into and dusted the top(s) with parmesan cheese and garlic powder. it came out pretty well. i brought some into work, toasted and buttered some slices and gave them to members of my team and they were met with a lot of praise. and, hell, the lunchbox i had brought it in still smells fantastic.
of course making my first batch of bread has revealed to me the need for supplies and equipment should i wish to continue. in particular, more flour (i went through 6 cups just for this one try), other kinds of flour, more yeast, a spray bottle (i put in a dish of water in the oven and spritzed the inside of the oven by hand a couple times), and baking tins of some kind (a loaf pan, at least). and, yes, i do want to continue.
baking has always been a part of the culinary arts that i never fully entered before, merely skirting around in the periphery and never daring to crossover completely. i guess that's no longer true. eventually, i'd really like to try my hand at making puff pastry. it looks like a bitch to do but the process (and the product) are just so damn interesting!
so, funnily enough, i was given a bread making book way back in the late 90s that i hadn't cracked open until the other week. seeing as i'm more a regular stovetop cook than a baker and have had no interest in baking until very recently, it just sat on my shelf for the last couple decades (and the last couple shelves as i've moved several times since). sadly, it looks like it's going to continue sitting on my shelf as it's apparently a bread book that uses a food processor instead of kneading the dough by hand, a specific skill i wanted to learn. i'm sure it's got some interesting recipes in there that i may just have to look at if only for the sake of ingredient lists. since i work so close to a barnes & noble, it looks like i may actually have to go see what they got on the subject in a couple hours.
#foodie #baking #cooking #bread #breadmaking #artisanalbread #homemade
