Bread Baking

Well, I finally gave it a try. I have been so intimidated by the whole idea of baking my own bread, that I was afraid to try. I received a bread maker for my bridal shower, over 8 years ago, but have never used it. I don't have much counter space so it is a project to find room for it. I found a couple of recipes and read that I could use the dough hook on my Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer to knead the dough. I love my Kitchen Aid, so I thought I would see what I could do. It was so easy. The most difficult part was waiting for the dough to rise. I did get discouraged at one point and think... oh all of that and now the dough isn't rising enough. It is going to end up in the trash. My husband encouraged me and I was happily surprised that the loaf did rise more in the oven. It popped out of the pan so easily it startled me. My husband and kids were standing around waiting to taste it, so I started slicing it. Everyone loves it. It is delicious if I do say so myself. You can find the recipe by searching for homemade wheat bread here.



I also made some wheat rolls. This recipe was in my Kitchen Aid book. It was for smaller rolls, but I made them big like hamburger rolls. The kids and I tasted one with butter tonight for snack and they are also delicious. Now no one wants store bought bread. That is a good thing, I keep reminding myself. Next I will need to get some more loaf pans and get a system down. I will be reading through some blogs to see if I can find some suggestions. If anyone here has any suggestions, please share. Thanks.