Baking Bread

Yesterday I made two loaves of honey wheat bread, from scratch, with simple ingredients -- bulgur, salt, honey, salt, butter, yeast, and flour ( a mix of wheat and white). I mixed the ingredients then kneaded the dough with my bare hands until it felt right.

While the dough was rising we went out with Bella for a long walk on a beautiful, warm day. By the time we returned the dough had doubled in size. After dividing it in two, I set it to rise in glass bread loaf pans. Leaving the dough to rise again, we stepped outside to rake leaves, trim bushes, and clean the yard.

Back inside by mid-afternoon, the bread loaves were ready for the oven. After 40 minutes, the browned, baked loaves were out and cooling on the counter. The sweet smell of yeast and honey wafted through the house. We waited as long as we could (maybe 10 minutes) before cutting the first warm slice of homemade bread.

The bread was soft, chewy, fresh, and I must say delicious. How could I have gone so long (years) since making my last loaf of bread. It is easy, fun, relaxing -- especially kneading the dough by hand. Warm, homemade bread is like eating a juicy, red tomato picked fresh from your garden. There is no comparison to a store-bought version.


This morning we toasted a slice of the honey wheat bread and adorned it with butter and our homemade peach jam. A great start to the day.