Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Simple Pleasure


In her book, Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort & Joy, Sarah Ban Breathnach describes simple pleasures as those ordinary, everyday occurrences which are often overlooked but bring us great joy. Over the weekend, I added another simple pleasure to my list - the delight of eating homemade bread still warm from the oven!

Over the past few months I've been working to move our meals, especially dinners, from pre-made, convenience meals to fresher, healthier and homemade. In my quest to conquer the kitchen, I've been trying my hand at making from scratch versions of things we normally eat. This weekend, I thought I'd finally give making my own bread a try. This Carolina girl can't even make biscuits, so bread seemed to be reaching for the stars. But, you've got to try, right?

Using the homemade wheat bread recipe from Tammy's Recipes (I love, love, love this site!) Ashleigh & I kneaded and waited. Punched, kneaded again and waited some more. Then baked! Out of the oven, first slice spread with butter - ooooohhhhh! The only word I could use to describe it was DECADENT! It was sooo good, it was almost like it was wrong! Needless to say we made fresh bread all weekend long LOL!

Oh, another reason to love the weekends!

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm scared of yeast. But, LOVE fresh bread. I might just have to try it again.

Mary Ellen said...

Oh, me too! I was sure I would either have the water too hot (killing the yeast) or not hot enough (not activating the yeast). But it worked!

Momzoo said...

I love making my own bread! I started to full time at the first of the year and I haven't bought a loaf since! The great thing about bread, the more you do it the faster you get and the eaiser it becomes.

Still Learning said...

I have been a recluse lately. Thanks for coming by. My blog is so embarrassing, why do I spill my guts like I do.

So I have a place for you to go if you want to start making from scratch recipes that are awesome & affordable. It is the Heritage Schoolhouse blog.http://heritageschoolhouse.blogspot.com/

She is a wonderful lady & can she cook. I use her recipes & they are soooo good. The lemon chicken was fantastic & she does homemade breads & muffins too. Please check her out. I heart homemade bread, especially warm. Yummy.

Mary Ellen said...

Thanks! I'm off to check that blog out!

Corey~living and loving said...

oh how I love homemade bread, but I am not good with yeast. I even somehow screw up a bread machine. sigh.....

Tammy said...

I'm glad you liked the bread you made! :) I had to smile at the part about making bread all weekend... that sounds like me when I got my new grain mill a couple months ago! We made some kind of bread (sandwich bread, cinnamon rolls, etc.) every day for at least a week! :)

Tammy

Maddy said...

See if your library has _Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day_. This book has a great recipe for easy dough that you make up and keep for up to 2 weeks in the fridge. And no kneading required. Makes it easy to have fresh bread quickly.

Mary Ellen said...

Thanks Maddy! I'll check our library for that book.