In Which I Attempt Baking *Updated w/pics

Bread is yummy.

Recently my father visited and noticed how much my fridge looks like a bachelor's fridge (contents: beer, condiments, Brita pitcher mostly empty, blocks of cheese, container of suspicious-smelling leftovers).  "You don't even have any bread!!" he exclaimed in an appalled manner.  When my dad, a bachelor on-and-off for the last 25 years, is yelling at the state of my fridge, I take notice.

So, rather than buying bread when I go to the store (well, other than liquid bread or English muffins), I decided to make it.  Because THAT'S easier.

Mmmm... liquid bread

Well, according to Donna Currie of Cookistry it is; by titling her post "The Simplest White Bread Ever,"  I thought, "Well, I can do simple!"  And it is!  I already had all the ingredients, it only makes one loaf unlike most recipes, and it doesn't need a stand mixer.  SOLD!

My first attempt was a kinda-fail, but that's mostly my fault because I didn't read the recipe closely enough to see that it had an overnight sit in the fridge.  I improvised, since I wouldn't be around the next day to bake it, by doing a double rise (I learned this from reading recipes.  I read a lot of recipes, but rarely get around to making any of them), guessing on the times and sizing, with real-world experience to back it up.  The bread turned out 87% bread-like, but pale, kinda flat, and distinctly yeasty-tasting.

Wah-wah-waaaaaahhhh......

Since nothing blew up and what I made was more like bread than, say, hippopotamuses, I decided to give it another try while actually following the instructions this time.

The dough is currently waiting in my fridge.  Hopefully the second go will be fabulous and tasty, and I will discover my latent BAKER talent and everyone will enjoy my scones and pies and dinner rolls at parties and will ask me for recipes and I will say "There is no recipe, I just kind of feel that the dough is right," and those people will feel inadequate for not being a Super Fantastic Baker Extrodinare like me.  And then I will take over the world.



PS I will not be apologizing about not posting for over a month.  Mostly because I'm pretty sure the only people who read this are peoples I know in real life, and I haven't been blogging because I've been all participating in real life so YOU'RE WELCOME I'M PARTICIPATING IN YOUR LIFE FRIENDS, GOD STOP BUGGING ME ABOUT BLOGGING!!




PPS Ok, so there might have been a bit of transference since I actually do feel guilty for starting yet another project that I haven't finished.  In recompense for unjustly yelling at you, my three faithful readers, here is a list of all of the projects I have CURRENTLY started and have not finished.  I hope you feel a little better about yourself after reading.  You're welcome.

• Recovering Pepere Fritz's chair (chair is uncovered and in pieces, with new fabric next to it, in storage.  I'm not even deluding myself that I will pick this up again before snow flies.)
• Hanging wall art  (So far I have put one piece of art *against* a wall.  The rest are in a pile *near* a wall.  The hanging nails are next to the art.  In a week or two I plan to place a hammer next to all of that too.  Hopefully the wall gnomes will get the picture and I'll come home to a decorated apartment.) 
• Find/Print photos for frames (I have a file on my work computer, and a file on my home computer.  They have 3 of the same picture, and a few different pictures.  I also have some frames, but have not sized them or counted orientation or any of that.)
• Hang knife storage & utilize (Magnetic strips ordered from Amazon and delivered to me by my lovely boyfriend, they are now sitting next to the drawer that is slowly destroying my knives while they are stored there.)
• Move stuff in storage room from boxes to bins (this is barely started so it doesn't nag at me too much.  the bins are empty next to boxes.  The stuff in boxes is not in immenent danger.  But in the summer it's a consistent 97degrees in my storage, so this won't be done anytime soon.)
• Organize bathroom storage (this will never truly be organized until I throw out the ENTIRE BOX of hair and skin product I don't use.)
• Blog (there are at least 5 unpublished posts that need minor editing, and 12 more that are outlines or titles.)
• Write thank-you cards for Humane Society fund raiser (Yeah, that was like, October.  This one will probably never be done.)