A Check On My Bucket List

So I had no idea yesterday I would do something that would make me oh so satisfied with myself (I haven't felt this good since I won the "good behavior" placemat in second grade!). Yet it happened... I, Megan Mansfield, have learned to make bread! Although it may seem like a small accomplishment to a majority of you (I know, some of you have been making your grandmother's famous recipe since you were like 36 months old... ya, ya), it is something I've always wanted to do. I don't know why I think making homemade bread will somehow make me a better wife, housekeeper and future mom- but hey, I do.
So here is my first breadmaking adventure. I found a recipe for light wheat bread on Annie's Eats (which I love!). Did you know bread only has like 5 ingredients? Almost all of which I already had in my cupboard. I always had the impression that bread was difficult and lengthy. Besides the raising parts (which are lengthy) this was actually very simple. That's a major appeal. I did have to buy yeast though, which I will admit was the most difficult part of the bread making process.

*Here is my yeast soapbox, if you're not interested, skip to the next paragraph.*

Active dry yeast? Bread machine yeast? Fast rising yeast? Instanst yeast? Three words for you.... WHAT THE HECK?! Did the pioneers have 4 different kinds of yeast?? Well after remembering that I only had bread machine yeast, buying active dry yeast, not knowing you had to put active dry yeast in water first (ya ya, I know), researching yeast online, deciding people that know nothing at all can post anything online about yeast, going to the grocery store again, stopping some poor woman in the aisle to ask her about yeast who had children who looked seriously annoyed I was delaying their mom, buying the only "instant" yeast I could find in a package I probably wouldn't be able to use in a year... I came home and had two different doughs rising-- one with active dry yeast (not dilluted in water first-- just thrown in) and one with instant yeast (just thrown in). Why am I telling you all this useless information? Well because at the end of the day and after that sweet lady in the grocery store giving me a sad, pitying look that I was pathetic enough to put yeast in my bread without allowing it to bubble in water first... both loaves worked out great! Given, the instant yeast rose much quicker and ended up being bigger (which was my doing since I waited for both to be done so they could go in the oven at the same time). So if no one knows, at least for this recipe, yeast was yeast.

This is the instant yeast batch just before it's second rise
(Notice the cute green Kitchen Aid my sweet Aunts gave me for my wedding-- I love it!!)

This is the instant yeast batch after it came out. It's bigger than the one below and bigger than I'd normally want. Hey, it's not perfect but I'm not going to be picky my first time.

I was pleasantly surprised, if not shocked, at how well my first bread-making adventure went (maybe the Lord was just having mercy on a wanna-be homemaker). I have decided that I am going to attempt (very noncommittal) to make this bread every Sunday for Mike and I to eat throughout the week. Mike and I are trying to save money and every week we buy some local Spelt bread that costs $5. We'll see how it goes when school starts up again but I like the idea of saving money, being domestic and knowing what's going into my bread!

This is the active dry yeast batch. I don't know if you can tell but it's smaller and looks more like what I envision it should look like.

Mike cutting up the bread. We ate it with freezer jam or my favorite, just butter and a little honey. Mmmm!