I Heart Bread

I love bread. I will not even attempt to elaborate on this statement because it is truly impossible to describe in a not infinitely long post my deep and genuine adoration for carb-y goodness of all kinds.

However, when I've tried to bake it myself I've experienced both successes and failures.

Success:    

The wonderful Courtney's Hearty Oat Loaf Bread. I think this one worked out for me because it didn't involve yeast and the normal kneading and waiting process required for bread. You unquestionably have to eat a slice nice and toasty right out of the oven, because it does lose some scrumptious-ness after refrigerated. Also, because the shape of the load leads to thick slices, I found that microwaving the bread instead of popping it in the toaster oven warmed it more thoroughly. I might try baking it again in a loaf pan, because the pie pan lends itself to cake-like slices rather than sandwich slices.

Don't get me wrong, though--this stuff was mighty tasty! Perfect for my afternoon and/or late night snacks with the best jelly ever. I never got so excited about jam or jelly, but the Santa Cruz Organic company really rocks my world.

And now, the failure: 

I tried to do the whole yeast shebang following this recipe, but the loaf just didn't want to rise. Maybe it's because I subbed some AP flour for whole wheat? But whole wheat bread does exist...

Of course, I still ate it though. It's weird how bread that doesn't rise is the same mass as a bread that does rise, but it feels like you're eating less? Apparently volume correlates with satiation.

 

A couple weeks ago I ambitiously made a goal of not buying bread any more. As in, baking all bread products myself. Needless to say, I've already abandoned that goal--not because I don't like the idea, but because my end products in the kitchen are somewhat unpredictable and good bread for me is an absolute necessity, not something to play around with. Bread, like crackers (a very labor-intensive process I know from firsthand experience), is worth buying at the grocery store, at least for me as a student with limited time to experiment with recipes right now. 

But mark my words, I will perfect the rising and baking techniques in time. After all, my dream is to open a bakery...some day, if this whole grad school thing doesn't work out.