Suzy Homemaker

So I decided that I would try to start making bread for the kids to use for lunches since we go through so much of it each week. I started when we were up in VA with some feeble attempts that didn't turn out right. The bread was really good a few days later though as french toast.I bought a few books with recipes and found a magazine with a very easy recipe in it also but so far have not gotten around to trying any in the books. I guess it was just that they required so many things that I didn't already have in my pantry so I was waiting until that one moment in time when I have a few extra dollars to get those things, but sadly it never happens. I did have the whole wheat flour and some Gluten from previous though that I packed and brought south with us. I think I never made any of these recipes also because they just didn't sound exciting to me. I couldn't get involved emotionally enough to want to do them. They were just too complicated.

So I googled and found The New Homemaker and a wonderful blog about making whole wheat bread. The blog itself was a little intimidating at first because who wants to read page after page just to get to the recipe. I sent the link in an email to myself so I could go back to it later and forgot about it for about 2 weeks. I also put off buying bread because I kept telling myself, and Ben, that I was going to make bread. This 2 weeks of procrastination worked out for the kid's lunches because the week before school started Lunchables were on sale at Publix and I thought it would be a nice gesture to let the kids take them in their lunches for the 1st week of school. So there I had one week that we didn't need bread. Last week I had to break down and buy a loaf just to tide us over until I got of my butt. Well in the 1st 2 days of this week the loaf is GONE! It only lasted for 8 sandwiches. WOW!

So Sunday I decided I would start reading the blog part of the recipe. It was great! It was so informative explaining the different types of flour and why you need certain ingredients. Then I got to the recipe. I made sure that I read the whole thing before attempting any part of it so that I would have some idea of what to expect and how long it would take me. On Monday I set out.

The day started a little hectic with the rain and having to drive the kids to school because it was pouring when we walked out the door and then by the time we got across the street to the school and around the millions of other cars loaded with kids and rude parents the rain had stopped enough that we just parked on the grass and walked anyway. We could have waited and walked from the house and saved the gas but I was trying to be nice and not make the kids walk through the wet streets.

So by the time I got back home from taking Andy to school an hour later I was ready. It was a long process and I needed to get the ball rolling. I was able to get the yeast going before getting Andy and then adding the other ingredients while he was eating lunch to get the 1st rise going. This includes almost burning up my Kitchen Aide mixer using it to do some of the kneading for me. After getting the other 3 from school I was able to get the loaves shaped and in the pans for the proofing/2nd rise so it would be ready for the oven at about 5pm. Yeah, right! Like anything ever happens on time around here.

Ben got home from work around 4:30, changed the battery in my truck, and then we were out the door to mail some boxes (books sold on ebay) and get dinner since it was already so late and we needed to get to the post office before closing. So the bread got to rise longer than needed. That's ok because, as they say, The longer you let it rise, the more flavor will develop.

So I finally I was able to get the bread into the oven around 7:00 and they cooked for about 40-50 minutes and smelled sooooo very wonderfull. They looked gorgeous too. I can't believe how pretty the look. I am impressed with myself. I let the loaves cool until about 9:30ish and then HAD to cut into them to taste my handywork. Not bad! It's not the best bread I have ever had but I think I know how I can make it better next time using the same recipe. It was much better than the bread I made in VA. So now it is all sliced up and ready for lunches. Let's see if the kids like it!