I have been wanting to learn to bake real bread for a while now. Why? Homemade bread is so much better tasting that store bought….usually. (My first 3 attempts were frighteningly bad.) Store bread usually has a few extra ingredients that don’t really need to be there. And of course…store bread means more plastic bags. (Although- now that I am not using plastic grocery bags or plastic produce bags those lowly bread bags were filling all sorts of new and exciting roles.) Plus, it is really satisfying to bake. You get really invested in these little loaves. It rises and you are queenie for the day…it falls and you want to kick your grandmother. (Now I know how men feel.)

I say I wanted to bake real bread because I have made many an edible loaf in the bread machine. In fact, before kids I would make about 50% of our bread. The only reason I stopped was counter space. Once the thing got put up in a cabinet I kinda forgot about it. My first attempts at reentering the bread world I thought would be best made with ol’ faithful. Bread machines are pretty moron proof…or so I thought. I tried two different recipes…each came out like a brick. I called my girlfriend who regularly makes bread by hand and she ran through the list of usual suspects and it turned out….I was killing my poor innocent little yeast with water that was too hot. I’m a yeast killer. . So…I tried again….and was the proud owner of yet… another hockey puck. The machine didn’t like the type of yeast I was using. Fickle little b…… booger. (Hey…I spend a lot of time with toddlers.)

Then I decided to scrap the beast…and go in commando…with my own two hands. New recipe…new attitude….and we have bread people. Not only is it bread…it is whole wheat sourdough bread…which was made with my own starter. Take a moment to oooooo and ahhhhhh. Here is the recipe that brought joy to this little newbie bread baker’s heart: No Knead Sourdough Bread I swapped out 31/2 cups white flour for whole wheat. **Start saving your old bread bags, or even better yet….resealable tortilla bags. Theses loaves are round so the tortilla bags work really well.** Good luck.

If any of you have recipes that make you want to gloat…don’t be a piggie…share with the rest of the class. I must go. Time for me to casually stroll the streets of NY with bread in hand waiting for people to inquire as to where I got such fine looking loaves.

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