the lunch series

"Now that's a loaf of bread!"

If you could hear me say it out loud, you would be able to hear the stress on the words "Now" and "That's".   Imagine it this time, "Now thaaat's a loaf of bread!" 

My Pa, my grandpa, taught me how to talk like that. We were talking about babies one day. Talking about how some babies are cute, and well...how some babies aren't so cute.  But never, ever, would you, ever, admit, out loud, that a baby.is.not.cute. He said to me, if I ever do see one of those babies, all I gotta say is,

"Now that's a baby!" 

And tonight, when I pulled the loaf of bread out of the bread machine, I laughed when I saw it, because that is exactly what I thought. It wasn't as good looking as a loaf of bread could be. It was too dark and about 3 inches too short. Every now and then, it happens this way. And it's no big surprise. It is even half always to be expected. For I am no baker. 

And only Liza lou would mess up a loaf of bread, that was made in a bread maker. When it comes to baking, it's not that I'm horrible, I just self will it. To self will it, basically means, you take it into your own hands. An old boss of mine used to tell me I had a problem with that. And he always kept an eye on me when I made the sweet potato biscuits!

As much as I hated to hear it, he was right about me. I believe that self willing is down right okay...in life, yes. In baking, never! Baking is an exact process, and it does not need my free for all style. But to be honest, sometimes, I don't even know that I'm doing it.

So thank goodness for my bread machine, a much loved birthday present. It still gives me the satisfaction of making bread from scratch, it makes the house smell like a small bakery, and for some reason, it seems to slow time down. And with it, quite possibly, is the only baking that I do.

 It is only because fresh baked bread is so good.

And a homemade sandwich on it is even better.

For bread machine Challah recipe,

Ingredients:

1/2 cup + 2 T. water

1/4 cup unsalted butter, in 1/2 inch pieces

1 egg, at room temperature

3/4 t. salt

2 T. +1 t. sugar

2 1/4 cups bread flour

2 t. yeast

Method:

Place ingredients, in the order listed, in the bread pan fitted with the kneading paddle. Place the bread pan in the bread maker, and make appropriate selections according to your machine. Press Start to mix, knead, rise and bake. Ah so easy! When cycle is completed, removed bread from machine and transfer to wire rack to cool. Bread slices best when allowed to cool. 

(Here is where I think I self willed and didn't precisely follow the instructions, causing my "Now that's a loaf of bread" comment.  I cracked the egg straight from the fridge. I didn't let it come to room temp. Oopsie.)

Tip: gently and safely warm cold eggs by placing whole eggs in a bowl and covering with moderately hot tap water for ten minutes.