The stuff of life

Mmmm, bread. The smell of baking bread is unparalleled. But I would venture to say that most people don't know how good baking bread smells. Or how a shmear of margarine melts into a slice cut off a still-warm loaf. Because no one bakes bread anymore.

When I take bread to book club or to work, it goes over well. Most people freak right out. "You actually made bread!?" It lessens the wonder somewhat when I say it's easy. But not much, because people don't actually believe me.

I think I had somewhat of an odd childhood--my parents actually cooked. From scratch most of the time. I know--and since you're a loyal, dedicated follower of my blog, you know too--my mom didn't really cook, but she did bake. We had fresh home-made muffins almost every week. And she made noodles from too, like my dad. And Dad always cooked from scratch. (Except for canned mushrooms. *shudder*) So it's not that weird to me that I make cupcakes and pasta and soup and pizza and bread all from scratch. But apparently it's weird to others.

So I say, "No really, it's easy. It takes a little time, but it's not hard." And no one believes me. So I expound, "The hardest part is having 3 or 4 uninterrupted hours to start the bread, let it rise a couple times, and bake it. But the process it self is easy." I think people may believe me a little at this point, but I doubt many of them are yet making bread from scratch.

But I want you to make bread from scratch. DO IT. It's delicious and very satisfying, and will impress the hell out of everyone, including your significant other, your boss, your boss's boss, and your mother-in-law. To facilitate this, I have summed it up into several E-Z steps, with helpful hints where necessary.

Step 1: combine ingredients.
This is pretty self-explanatory. The most important factor is remembering to stock enough flour and active yeast. It's a little messy: you will end up with dough on your hands.
Step 2: knead.
This one should be self-explanatory. If not: kneading allows the yeast to start working and allow the gluten to develop. It gives the bread its texture. Don't neglect the kneading.
Step 3: rise.
This one is easy. Once you've kneaded the bread, you have to leave it in a warm place to let it rise. I accomplish this by turning the oven on just enough to get a little warm (around 200 degrees), opening the oven door and placing the dough in its bowl on top of the stove.
Step 4: knead again.
Should be self-explanatory by now.
Step 5: rise again.
This time, when you're done kneading, the dough goes into a pan to rise.
Step 6: bake.
Make sure you pre-heat your oven and that you leave enough room above the pan so that when the bread rises it doesn't hit the element. Trust me: stupider things have been done.
Step 7: cool.
This is important: turn out the bread from the pan. Otherwise, as it cools moisture will be trapped between the pan and the bread, and the bread will get get moist on the outside. In case this comes as a surprise, I'll warn you: moist bread is bad.

Start with bread recipe from a cookbook or a website you trust, using ingredients you are familiar with. In only a few short hours you will have the smell of delicious warm bread wafting through your kitchen.