Yeast Whisperer

I discovered that i love baking bread, after trying it for the first time last week. Bread is my new medium. Even though my first attempts were not overly delicious, I am creative and I have so much room for improvement.
This was my inspiration, from the Feb '09 issue of Gourmet. YUM these look delicious!


For the first month or so i looked through the article, I was intimidated by the 5.5 hour prep time. Who has that kind of time (apparently I do).

I started small, after receiving spelt flour in the CSA a few weeks ago. I was encouraged by dh using her flour to bake the bread recipe that came with the share. Once I felt confident that baking bread was something I could do, I gave it a shot. Using her recommended adjustments, I made yummy honey wheat bread. I felt ready to take my bread baking to the next level.

Jed used the last of our Williams Sonoma wedding gift certificates and bought a rolling pin, a muffin tin and a loaf pan (sounds like the start of a bad joke a slaughter would tell at 3am). The rolls were good. Not great and no where near what I imagined based on those Gourmet photos. But the great thing about these rolls is the opportunity to be creative. They weren't hard and I had a great time trying.

I imagine future batches flavored with cheeses, fresh herbs, olives, nuts, sweet and savory. I'm excited to try something new and to trust that my instincts may or may not be as good as the recommended recipe. Besides, as Jed said, ingredients cost a few dollars. For that price, I can afford to experiment.