My Bread Making Adventure: Part II

That’s a picture of my newest loaf, cinnamon raisin, all bundled up and stored. It came out huge! It tastes OK — a little bland. I can’t tell if it’s bland because I’m sick, or because I’m used to the extra sugary store brands. The recipe called for a tiny bit of brown sugar and honey in lieu of regular sugar, so I’m guessing next time I should be a bit more generous with those ingredients.

My Bread Making Adventure: Part I

This past weekend, my Mom was nice enough to grab a bread maker for me at the local thrift store. Only $10! I was really excited to make my first loaf, so I cleaned the machine and downloaded the manual off the web.

Isn’t she pretty? It bakes decent sized loaves, and I can set it 12 hours in advance. On Monday night, I threw in the ingredients for basic white bread and set it to be ready at 9 am.

I woke up around 8:30, to the smell of warm bread. This happy little bubble was growing!

Just a little while later — all done! I have to admit, I was skeptical about this little machine. Could the tiny mixing flipper inside really do all the work?

Voila! It looks like bread… on the outside.

Hmm, the inside looks good, too!

The final verdict: delicious! It’s very dense and filling, I’m guessing because it isn’t packed with fillers and preservatives. It’s nice to know exactly what you’re eating for a change.

The first loaf will be finished today, and I have to say, it was a success. It was buttered for breakfast, slapped on turkey and cheese for lunch, and toasted with rosemary and olive oil for dinner.

My next adventure will be a garlic rosemary loaf. Wish me luck!

Domesticity

I’ve been feeling especially domestic lately. I’m on the hunt for a bread maker. How great would it be to plop in some ingredients in the morning, and have freshly baked bread by the late afternoon? I love bread, and home-made is really the best. I’ll also scrounge up a nice bread box from the thrift store.

Speaking of domesticity, I’ve been thinking (dreaming, longing) about my next abode. I’m 23-years-old, and need to be content with renting for awhile. And I really should be, who wants to “settle down” in their early twenties? I still want to extend my feelers out into the world and see where I’ll end up.

Despite that, I’ve got this ever-present desire to find a cute little house on a few acres of land. I want to have my own vegetable garden. I’d love to have a (very small) chicken coop, with 2 or 3 chickens. I want to be more self-sustaining — plus fresh food is just so much tastier.

That dream could be a long way off, or maybe not. It really depends on where Rob and I decide to live. Northwest NJ has a lot of interesting living opportunities, and I’ve been considering everything from complexes and townhouses, to single-family ranches and lake cottages.

In the mean time, I’ll have to satiate my desire to be self-sustaining by baking dog biscuits and finding that bread maker.