I successfully made bread!!

You’d be surprised how long it has taken me to successfully make bread

I have been trying to successfully make bread for years, sad, but true 😦 I did have a bread maker once that created some pretty awesome bread. I wouldn’t say that I made the bread though, it was more like, go to the grocery store, buy a box of bread mix, dump, pour, push button and the bread machine did the rest.

But on a recent trip to Costa Rica I stayed with a friend who taught me some basics about bread making. I wish I could say I came home and BAM, made me some awesome bread!! That was not the case. Oh, I tried, but my bread still came out dense, I mean like a hardheaded man, you could knock somebody out if you threw it hard enough, kinda of dense.

I was able to compose, what could be called, somewhat edible delights though. I crafted garlic knots to go with some spaghetti and meat sauce I made, they were really good!! (right out of the oven) But, the next day? Let’s just say, I think my husband broke a tooth on one I also made pizza dough, this, however, turned out perfect. With pizza dough you don’t have to handle it so much and the texture doesn’t have to be as perfect as the bread.

But, not to be deterred, I kept trying… and trying… and trying….I learned that there is a kind of “feel” to it. The kind of feel you only get by repeatedly handling the dough. I think it’s one of those things where success comes only by continued failure, each time, learning a little more about how it should feel. I, by no means, have perfected bread making. I am still in the learning stages. But, the closer I get to making perfect bread, the more I just want to keep on trying.

Below are some pictures I took while in Costa Rica in my good friend, Ginnee’s, kitchen. I would highly recommend learning how to make some bread. Even if you have to practice a lot. It is soooo worth it!!

When you take it out, knead it few more times, then either put it in a loaf pan lined with parchment paper or bake it artisan style by putting it on a cookie sheet just like it is and let it rise again for about a 1/2 hour and then bake it at 400 degrees until the top has turned crusty brown.

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