A bun in the oven

Or a loaf, to be more accurate.

I've been on a baking kick lately. Not that I'm a particularly fancy baker or anything. I tend to lean more towards the practical when it comes to cooking. But my husband could live on bread alone, and after shelling out nearly $3.00 a loaf at the grocery, I'm determined to make some good bread right here in my own kitchen.

So today I've started with just a very basic white bread recipe. It required very little work at all. And, my opinion is this: You reap what you sow.

The instructions were to basically dump everything into the mixer and then, after forming a ball, letting it rest for 10 minutes before shaping it and dumping it into a loaf pan to rise 45 minutes. This didn't seem like enough rising time for the yeast, nor did it seem to be the most effective way to utilize yeast. I'm used to starting the yeast with the water and sugar prior to adding it to the dry ingredients. I think I should have listened to my instincts, but decided to follow the recipe exactly as written.

It's not that it's a particularly bad bread recipe. I mean, it tastes like bread, but it's not really what I was going for. It's very dense, yet soft in the middle. It didn't rise as well as I expect bread to. (I didn't think it would) The crust is unremarkable, not crusty enough for my taste.

But anyway, it will get eaten, and when it's gone, I'll try a new recipe and share my thoughts with y'all. And if you have a killer bread recipe, by all means, send it on over.