I began an new start early last week, only to find MOLD in my start on day 4!!! Not sure I'm cut out for sour dough...

While dealing with the stress of my best friend having a baby, my cousin dying and my hubby graduating as Valedictorian, I haven't been making dinner, let alone bread.
I finally managed to pull a loaf together last week, much to my family’s joy. It was just the loaf from lesson #1,(because that’s the recipe I can remember, so I don’t have to hunt down a recipe card) made with wheat flour instead of white. They complemented me so much, it made me remember why I bake.
Hopefully life will slow down and let me do more baking…
I finally tried to put a sourdough start together. It is day 5 and I have no bubbles, no growth, only a lump of wet flour. I think I’ll start over tomorrow.

There was soooo much food in my house, over the holiday, that I stoped baking so we could catch up. Yesterday my hubby said the words I love to hear, "Is there any bread." I made a variation of the recipe in lesson 1, and was surprised to see the loaf disapear in about an hour.

Last night we had a very cas diner party. My guest where very impressed and amazed that I made the bread bowls. And they ate a whole batch of Italian Bread. This site makes me look soooo good! :o)

Just took my 2nd Challah out of the oven. It is a very nice looking loaf of bread. Gosh, I may never sprinkle seeds or wheat on my loaves again. What a mess! Maybe I'm not using enough wash? The seseame seeds are everywhere!

I made Rustic Bread today for the faculty at my son's school. What nice looking loaves! Everyone was very excited to eat such a beautiful, yummy treat. It was a hit. :o)

Just tried sonofYah's Challah recipe. The Challah recipes I've used in the past have only called for white flour. The wheat was a very nice addition. The kids loved it. I loved it. My hubby loved it...what more could you ask for.
I did have trouble with glaze. The dough had so much spring in the oven, that the glaze didn't cover it all. The loaf was beautiful where the glaze covered, and my hubby said the unglazed part gave it character :o) What a nice guy. Again, what more could you ask for.

I tried the Bagel recipe again. I was a little nervous in the beginning. The dough seemed really wet and messy. But I keep kneading and all was well. My bagels were really good this time.

After a very long day, I decided I needed a little baking therapy. So I tryed the Buttermilk Cluster...yummmy!!! Best rolls I've ever made. My poor stand mixer had a pretty hard time. I may have to upgrade. I also made the pineapple upside down cake recipe from this site. To quote my brother: "That cake totaly rocked!"

My loaves from lesson #2 turned out very good. The first batch didn't rise very much, so I let the second batch rise for a lot longer. My hubby is impressed. This site may convince him to send me to Chef School :o)