Tuesday, May 28, 2013

baking for non-bakers

I finally got out Zach's grandparents' old breadmaker this weekend. We've had it for a few years, but for some reason I kept putting off learning how to use it. I thought it would be super complicated. There were different flours involved and yeast. Yeast is scary. Plus I'm just not a baker; I don't find it the least bit fun. You end up with a sink and a half full of dishes and a finished product that may or may not work. So the breadmaker sat in the cupboard for two years.

Well, now I'm kicking myself, cause it. is. awesome. I ended up making three loaves in four days! That's a lot of bread for two adults and baby.


My first attempt was this whole wheat loaf. It was so easy! You just measure everything out in the pan and turn it on. All you have to clean are a couple of measuring cups and spoons. There's no kneading involved, no yeast starters, no setting timers for dough to rise. That's my kind of baking!



I had the bug and wanted to make more, but I didn't want to make another sandwich bread (we were already having a piece of that wheat with every meal and in between!). I had everything for the chocolate chip banana recipe from the booklet, and I am so glad we did. Between us and a few friends we scarfed this within 24 hours.



Then since Zach had to sleep all day Memorial Day, I got bored and made a loaf of Classic White. This one required a teensy bit more work since you had to start with warmed milk, but, again, so worth it.

Soon, I might get crazy and start playing with the timer feature. Can you imagine waking up to warm, fresh bread? I'm pretty sure that's the height of decadence.


5 comments:

  1. that DOES sound like a dream. I, too, dread baking, but my mom has this incredible no-knead overnight recipe that I need to try. It's very low-maintenance and tastes amazing every time. this looks like her recipe: http://www.the-baker-chick.com/2013/02/08/no-knead-crusty-artisan-bread/

    ReplyDelete
  2. The bakery where I work makes the most amazing bread! They have one that is Rosemary-Currant and it is to die for! You should definitely make bread with Rosemary, it smells so good.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sounds delicious! Matt has been talking about trying to make our own bread lately...

    ReplyDelete