Breaking Bread

It's a rainy day today. When the weather is undesirable like this, being inside all day calls for one funtivity in my opinion. That activity is baking bread. Other then some mixing, stretching, and shaping, baking bread involves a lot of hands off time. Intrigued? Here are some tips I have to get you started!

1. Pick the easiest recipe you can find: If this is your first time baking bread, set yourself up for the best chance of success. I suggest finding a recipe that uses easy to acquire ingredients, gives you tips throughout the recipe, and is a recipe that has an easy method for shaping your loaf. I've had good results with Peter Reinhart's The Bread Baker's Apprentice book. I find his recipes seem to be very forgiving. Two recipes I recommend from that book are Cinnamon Raisin Walnut Bread and Light Whole Wheat Bread.

2. Don't worry about splurging on fancy equipment: A stand mixer with a dough hook attachment is a life saver when it comes to kneading. It does all the work so you don't have to knead by hand (which can take a long time!) Besides that, you mainly need a large (mixing size) bowl to let the dough rise and some loaf pans. I bought 2 loaf pans for about $2 each at Walmart. They are great starter pans to make sure you actually enjoy baking bread and want to continue doing so!

3. But, do splurge on one thing: If you find you love to bake bread, I recommend buying a jar of instant yeast for $6-$7. That may seem like sticker shock when 1 packet of yeast is 49 cents. However, buying a jar will save you money per packet (it comes out to about 37-43 cents per packet when you buy a jar instead of each packet individually).The most valuable reason I suggest buying a jar is ease of preparation. With a packet of yeast, you have to worry about whether you are using the entire packet and how to store it if you don't use its' entire contents. With a jar, you just take what you need and screw the top on. It's glorious!

Those are some of my tips I have for baking bread at home. I always believe that if you have a lazy day to spend at home, bake some bread. Have fun with it. Like I stated, there are many recipes that are very forgiving when it comes to mixing and shaping your dough.

here are few things in life that bring a smile to someone's face and excitement to their stomach as freshly baked bread just out of the oven.

appy baking!