I Did It!

I finally did it.  I baked a successful loaf of bread – two loaves in fact.  Bread is a culinary hurdle I have been unable to sail over.  Oh, I have a bread machine.  I can make hockey pucks and tortillas in my bread machine.  This happens no matter if I use a recipe from scratch or a packaged mix. 

I store the paddle for the machine in the pan unattached.  One time I forgot to install the paddle.  It was baked right into the hockey puck loaf.  What an idiot.

Cornbread has been conquered and improved by me.  No problem.  It’s so good I call in cornbread cake.  Buttermilk biscuits I rule supreme.  Pass the butter.  Yeast breads I swear to dominate.  Today I begin to teach myself how to master yeast bread baking.

I chose a recipe from the November 2009 issue of Cooking Light.  All the ingredients to make Walnut Bread were in my kitchen; so I could proceed.  The planets aligned.  The weather cooperated.  The angels sang.  The gods approved.  It was good.

I took a picture to record my success so I can remember this 1st step.  Certainly, I will have many steps backwards; but I finally did it.  It was good. The recipe did not call for an egg wash; but a taste tester suggested to try that.  It looks pretty good.  Another taste tester in my kitchen thought kosher salt would be good.  I salted one loaf.  It was good.

Warm bread and melting butter.  It is good.

Note:  Why do food stylist place their food on fabric?  I don’t want my bread on a piece of linen or burlap (pictured above).  Please keep the lint, threads, and fluff off of my food.  Thank you.