Why is bread so Intimiating

OK so its late on St. Patty's Day. I learned alot about my love hate relationship with making bread. To those who have a bread machine...I bow down! It must be the greatest thing since forever! I want one. Like really bad. Because after the today kneading and rising and kneading and rising. Oh Lord who gets joy out of this? I will one day! If it kills me!



Speaking of the joy of bread baking I was talking to a dear friend today who we'll call BMac. She is awesome! Even if she's a dreaded Tennessee fan. Ugh. No one is perfect.



Anywho.



We were talking about a mutual acquaintance who not only has 5 boys but makes bread daily. AND on top of that GROUNDS HER OWN WHEAT!!! WHO DOES THAT???????????



Seriously? who. does. that?



At least she gives me something to strive for!



Okay back to the bread I made today. The first loaf was A Crusty White Bread. Enough for one gigantic loaf. Although it came together awesomely I would put a little more salt in it next time.

I'll add the recipe at the end of this post.



Oh. And I totally forgot to take pictures of the loaf before I gave it to my neighbor.



Yes I gave it away. No need to get even fatter. =o)



My second loaf.



*SIGH* It happened purely by accident.



I wanted to make dinner rolls to go with the Corned Beef and Cabbage we were "supposed" to have for dinner, so I decided to go to TastyKitchen.com my trusty "go to" website for awesome recipes. This one have 4 mitts, which is pretty darn good.



UUUGGGHHH....boy was I wrong.



I followed that dag gum recipe to the T. But it was a sticky gloppy mess. Too Sticky to make decent rolls out of it. So on the phone with Mr. Roll Tide practically in tears because the dough didn't turn out he said in his "why be some complicated voice" , just throw it in a pan and bake it together.



DUH. Seriously I am too emotional to be rational sometimes.



So that's what I did. 9x13 here we come.



It turned out great! Super large. Like almost 3 loaves worth of bread but GREAT.



Better than the Crusty Loaf.



I think I'm going to slice it and toast it and and roast beef and water crest and some mayo.



Oh yummy!



Below are the recipes for both breads try them, tweak them, tell me what you think.



That is if anyone is reading this. Even though I doubt it, this is pretty awesome.


Crusty Bread # UNO from Baking Bible

1 egg
1 egg yolk
1/4 - 1 cup lukewarm water
4 1/2 cups white bread flour
plus extra for dusting
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp super fine sugar (dude who has that? i used regular sugar and it seemed fine)
1 tsp active dry yeast
2 tbsp butter, diced
vegetable oil, for brushing

1)Lightly beat together the egg and egg yolk in a measuring cup. Stir in enough lukewarm water to make up to 1 1/4 cups.

2)Sift the flour and salt together into a bowl and stir in the sugar and yeast. Add the butter and rub it in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Make a well in the center , pour in the egg mixture and stir well with a wooden spoon until dough begins to come together, then knead with your hands until it leaves the sides of the bowl. turn out onto a lightly floured counter and knead well for about 10 minutes, until smooth and elastic. (Keep kneading I promise it will get smooth. I thought dang it i did something wrong but i just kept at it and Voila! it worked and smoothed out!)

3)OK it says here to brush bowl with oil. NO use Pam its so much easier and yields the same result. Shape dough into a ball and put it into the bowl. Flip it over to make sure the whole thing is coated in oil. PSSSS...just spray more Pam on the top! Cover in Saran Wrap and let rise in a warm place for 1-2 hours. In my house it took the whole 2 hours to double in size.

4)Brush a 7 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 3 1/2-inch loaf pan with oil. turn out the dough onto a lightly floured counter, punch down with your fist, and knead for 1 minute. With lightly floured hands shape the dough into a rectangle the same length as the pan and flatten slightly. Fold it lengthwise into 3 and place in the prepared pan, seam side down. Put the pan into a plastic bag or cover with a damp dish towel and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes, until the dough has reached the top of the pan.


5) Preheat the oven to 425degrees. Bake the loaf for 30 minutes, until it has shrunk from the sides of the pan, is golden brown, and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom with your knuckles. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool.


**Okay so after contemplating putting "The GLOB" recipe too I have decided against it. No need to torture anyone else with that nonsense.