In the beginning ... buttermilk bread

So, I've liked baking bread for ages. I think I got it from my mom. Certainly I have great memories of watching her bake bread when I was a child. And I've always got so much satisfaction out of watching (and smelling!) the yeast come alive, and feeling the dough give under my hands - not to mention the taste and smell of it warm out of the oven. Could there be anything more satisfying? I think not.

But I hadn't really done any baking since getting married five years ago—so I was really happy last Christmas when my wife gave me The Everything Bread Cookbook, by Leslie Bilderback (whose website, having discovered it, I now intend to fully explore). It took a couple of months, but I started in on it, learned a few interesting things—and then, today, got a new idea.

I've thought about blogging before, but I always thought, "What do I like enough, do well enough, think about enough that I could write about it once or twice a week? And today it came to me. I made the cookbook's Buttermilk Loaf (now cooled and ready to eat) and sat down to write about bread.

I fully intend to go through and make most, if not all, the breads in the book—they all look yummy—and I'll try a few of my own as well. I'm by no means a "professional" baker. My background is in math, education, and computer progamming; I don't even weigh my ingredients. But I love bread; the baking, the eating, even the cleaning up. So I'll bake some bread, and I'll let you know what I think—about that bread, and about bread and life in general.

Enjoy!

Comments

The Consistency Of Coarse Meal

I decided to make biscuits this afternoon, and as I was following the recipe, I saw that I needed to mix flour, salt, and baking powder, then cut in shortening (butter is better than mar but marge is what we had). The recipe said to cut the shortening in "to the consistency of coarse meal." Now what the heck is that supposed to mean? I mean, I know what (for example) corn meal looks like; but does the casual baker? How are they supposed to know? It means this. Not that you'd go far wrong with these biscuits, anyway. I mean, it's the Pillsbury cookbook. The only problem I had is that, at some time in the past, I put a note in to myself to use 3 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder instead of the recipe's 2. Well, I'm marking that back down. These are edible, but definitely taste of baking powder. Oh well, live and relearn, I guess. The finished product. Yum! Godspeed, and remember, All things are better with bread .

Buttermilk Biscuits - Yum!

This morning I finally got to make the buttermilk biscuits I've been hoping for the last two days. As I guessed, they took only a while to make (the recipe was ready by the time the oven was done preheating) and they were done in 17 minutes (the recipe said 15 - 20, I split the difference). I think I must have done something weird with it though, maybe with the butter; the biscuits looked and tasted good, but I thought maybe they were a little chewy. Herself agreed with me, too. She had them with butter; I had them plain. Biscuits aren't supposed to be chewy, are they? Maybe a problem with cutting in the butter. You could tell I haven't made biscuits for quite a while. So there it is, I've now made the Buttermilk Loaf and the Buttermilk Biscuits - both good but with each their own problems. I'll try them again, later. God speed, and remember: All sorrows are less with bread . Edit: Added a picture.

More Random Thoughts

I don't usually make bread during the week (I could , but we'd rapidly run out of space to store the bread!). But last night I did, just plain white bread for sandwiches today. I have to watch myself carefully. I'm not taking the time I need to shape the bread; it doesn't look as nice and even as it should. But it's got a lovely crust, a bit sweetish, and should make a great sandwich. Herself (who has informed me that she would like to be referred to forthwith as Nancie) made a great sandwich on this for lunch. She is the Sandwich Queen :-) Buffalo chicken, lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise, and a wee little bit of pepper. I can't wait for lunch! I was going to post something about the awful state of my bread ingredient cupboard, but this has cheered me up enough that I don't feel like griping about it :-) God speed, and remember: All sorrows are less with bread .

Bread Makes The Meal

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