I have had a weekend of ‘should haves’ and up until Sunday at 6pm, I didn’t feel like I’d achieved much.
I should have attended a meditation workshop on Saturday, but the heavy snowfall scuppered that. I should have gone to visit a lovely friend and give her a pamper, but again the Beast from the East made sure we had to re-arrange. I should have gone food shopping, but….well to be honest I detest food shopping and will put it off until the fridge is bare.
But the great thing with scuppered plans and rescheduling diaries is you find something else to fill the time. And rather than pampering, I was snowed in at my Dads and we had some family time. Perfect. And rather than meditating on Saturday morning, we went sledging down the biggest hill we could find – the screams of delight anything but calming.
And rather than go food shopping and buy bread, I made homemade bread. For the first time ever!!
Well I say for the first time, I have a very vague memory of possibly making homemade bread in Home Economics at school – and the memory isn’t a pleasant one. I do recall it tasting of yeast, which sounds obvious I know, but it wasn’t a good taste, or smell, come to that matter. And of course back then, somewhere in the 80’s, baking bread was all about the kneading, the dough, the proofing, the dough, the yeast, the bake. In some kind of logical, well measured, follow the recipe order.
Baking bread in 2019 is so much easier!
My lovely Mum used a bread maker (BM) a few years ago and enthused greatly about how wonderful it was – after all, who could resist the smell of fresh bread wafting through the kitchen? The BM went to my Aunty when Mum passed away and for 8 years I’ve not really given it a second thought – until last week. The BM returned back to the fold and into my hands – and my eyes lit up. As a big fan of clean eating and living off the land, making my own bread suddenly seemed a complete no brainer.
Cuisinart CBK-100 2 LB Bread Maker, $73
So I found a recipe (granary and poppy seed), bought the ingredients and on Sunday evening stood in the kitchen and prepared to give Warburtons a run for their money.
And here’s the great thing. There was no kneading. There was no proofing. There was no stench of yeast. I simply put the ingredients (all 4 of them!) into the BM, set the timer for a ‘small loaf’ and walked away. 4 hours later and ta’dah!
Oh my! It was/is deeeeelicious! Homemade, no additives, no nasties, perfectly simple, granary and poppy seed bread. I cut a chunk, grabbed the marmite and took a big mouthful of my very first loaf.
What a revelation bread making is…..I am hooked after one crust and fully intend on making the most of the BM in future weeks. Orders will be taken……:)
And you know what, I should have done this sooner!
Want To Try This For Yourself? Here’s A Homemade Bread Recipe!
There really is nothing quite like a warm slice of fresh bread served with a thick pat of butter on top. Mmmmm! This recipe from Butter With A Side Of Bread is perfect. It’s simple to follow, takes about 2 hours to make and yields 2 loaves of wonderful bread.
To read more of 50 Ways to Leave Your 40s, click here.
