Smell That?

It smells yeasty and yummy. It's homemade bread. And the big girl and I made it. We went to a bread making class that my friend G was having. G even ground the wheat. She taught us the difference in the wheat, which is better for what kind of baking, and we had great discussions about our health and wellness. We had a great time and we brought home two beautiful loaves of homemade deliciousness that was actually, wait for it, good for you. Eeekk! That's all kind of craziness.

 The big girl and G adding ingredients to the bowl. This was during the mixing/kneading stage. G is adding the last three cups of flour. The big girl thinks the dough feels weird.

 These are the big girl's friends, K (turning away so you cannot see her beautiful face) and H (you can see her beautiful face). They giggled and giggled and giggled. I had forgotten that giggle was it's own language.

 The big girl has beautiful long nails. Not good when kneading dough by hand. She did not like the way it felt under her nails. Took her forever to wash her hands when she was done. She did a great job with the kneading, though.

 This is the dough after it rose the first time. Look how gorgeous that is! I told you she did a great job.

 This is my friend C's bread after rising. Our favorite part, I think, is the punch down. Got an issue with someone or something? Imagine that during the punch down. Smile.

 When we got out of the van at the house, I said "Grab the groceries, leave the bread alone." We brought the loaves home to bake since they had to rise a second time. That meant about another hour so it was easier to bring it home to bake. The boy must not have heard me or mixed it up because he grabbed the bread. And jostled it since it was heavier than he thought it was. And it fell. Not much for one, but quite a bit for the other. It baked the same, tastes the same. It's just not as tall as it's sibling loaf. Aren't siblings like that, though? When I introduce Big Sis to people I always end with, "And, yes, we have the same parents." Other than dark eyes and hair, we don't look very much alike. Must work with bread, too.

Here is the end result. Hubby came home to the smell of fresh bread. He said he almost floated into the house like the cartoon characters do, it smelled so good. Can't beat that with a stick. Even if you could, why would you? 

I got out of making bread for a lot of reasons, one of them that I couldn't find a recipe that I liked. It seemed that to make a good healthy bread, it took years to do or the list of ingrdients was longer than my name. I'm Hawaiian. I got a long name. This recipe was easy, simple, and the ingredient list is short. I like the heaviness of the loaves when they are baked. I read somewhere that the healthier the bread is for you, the heavier it will feel. Even though the bread is heavy, it is light in texture. We destroyed half a loaf at dinner last night. So good.

If you get the chance to take a bread making class, do it. It was fun, educational, and we have the beginnings of a tradition that can be handed down to the generation coming behind us. Making memories while we make bread. Very cool.

Have a great day.