The Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread

Lately, I have wanted to make some bread. Rachel and I used to own a bread machine. However, I did not like having a gaping hole in one end of the loaf. As such, we sold the machine around the time we moved from California to Ohio.

Anyway, I had most of the ingredients. I did have to go to the store to buy a new loaf pan and some yeast. The process was painless. It took about ten minutes of preparation time, ninety minutes of proofing time, thirty minutes of cooking, and ten minutes of cleanup. I could not find the temperature probe for our thermometer. So, I had to guess at the water temperature. In addition, I was unable to find our rolling pin, so I had to roll and shape the loaves by hand.

The result was worth it though when I pulled the GBD (golden brown and delicious) loaves from the oven. It is times likes this that I wish I had a better sense of smell. With all the patience I could muster, I waited until the loaves cooled down until I cut into them. Everything came out as expected. In fact, the only problem I had was cutting the loaves into consistently sized slices.

I did not do the math, but I am betting that making bread in this manner is more expensive than store-bought bread (especially if I “taste test” half a loaf). However, if I bought my ingredients in bulk, it might eventually be worth it. I have been craving good sourdough rounds ever since I left the San Francisco area. If I create my own sourdough starter, I would not have buy yeast. Of course, I would have to buy more flour. For now, I will keep to the basics and see how things progress.

In the midst of my baking, I also made some split pea soap from scratch. For just a few dollars, I can make enough servings for me for a week (Rachel is not a fan of split pea soup). I have been getting sick of buying prepared foods and especially eating out. It is both unhealthy and expensive. So, Rachel and I are trying to make all of our own meals. We are starting slowly.

For example, instead of ordering pizza, we are going to create our own. We will be using a crust mix for now. If that turns out well, I hope to create my own crust from scratch.

In retrospect, it is probably a poor idea to write about food between meals. Now I am hungry again.