Today, I took my first stab at baking bread. I’ve been looking forward to this moment since Christmas when I received Bernard Clayton’s New Complete Book of Breads
I cannot wait to get my bake on. First up, and the obvious choice for a new baker: “The First Loaf“. I was so happy when I saw this beginner’s loaf listed first (in a book of hundreds of recipes). It made me feel completely at ease.
This simple, white loaf was a doddle to make. My favourite thing about this book? Every recipe contains instructions on how to make your bread by hand or machine, depending on what you prefer. Since we don’t own any mixers or fancy equipment, this book is perfect.
For our first loaf (let’s be honest, this was totally not just me. See those man-hands above? Yeah.) this turned out surprisingly well. I think we should have kneaded for a bit longer, since there was a slight doughy taste.
Baking a bit longer might have helped too, especially because I am a big crust fan! So far, I have enjoyed it dipped in soup and toasted up with lashings of butter:
Yes.Have you ever made your own bread? What are your favourite loaves to make?
I’m super excited to get into a whole wheat loaf and a sourdough.
