New and terrified ;-D
Hi y'all! I'm down here in SC, looking to learn to bake bread. :) I had a bread machine years back and loved it but I've had a hankering to really dig into it. I've had all the necessary ingredients for weeks but I'm scared to death. ;D Trying to get my confidence up, I spent the last 2 days scouring the interwebz and have a couple pages of hand-written notes. I titled one "Know Your Yeast"...Hubby just shook his head but he remembers what it's like to walk into a room where bread is baking, so he's humoring me. :) (I also decided to wean myself off those little blue boxes of pie crust and spent this morning studying up on how to make it myself...another whole page of notes LOL)
So...just wanted to pop my head int and say "Howdy"! :D Going to go explore now and anticipating having a blast learning here. Thanks for this site!
----Bonnie
no need to be terrified and we are quite friendly here....... my husband shook his head when I told him a bit more than a year ago that I want to start making Sourdough bread...as I never had baked bread in my whole life and he thought I should start somewhere else...something a bit easier....:D
But with the help of many people here combined with my stubbornness, I am somehow still baking... happy baking..Kat
Thank you very much! :D Hubby has been quiet about it and kinda humoring me, but when he got me that bread machine 15 yrs ago, by goodness I used it! Wore the buttons off on it, and he and the kids devoured everything that came out of it.
Health issues made it progressively harder to care for a pen full of chickens; now that I'm down to one (that would be 9 Volt, he's the wee micro-rooster in my photo), I have loads of time. Ohhhhh yeah, I'm going to dip my feet in that sourdough pond sooner or later. My mouth's watering just thinking about it! :D
to the new Bonnie lass!
Why thank you! :D You wouldn't believe the stuff I've been finding! Oh wait...I guess you would. :D
Hi Bonnie! Let us know which type of bread your are interested in baking. Are you thinking sourdough or yeasted.
The help available on this site could fill a small library :D Our bakers range from novice to full scale experts. And everyone is here to help!
Glad you joined our gang...
Danny
Thank you! :) So far, just yeasted. It would be fun to try pizza crust, dinner rolls and hot dog/hamburger buns before I try the hairy stuff. I saw a few comments about how folks no longer buy sandwich bread for the week--awesome! For myself, I just want to dive into a hot loaf with some butter a few (okay, SEVERAL) nights a week with dinner. The whole grain recipes and such have caught my eye but I won't poke around in them till I have the basics down. This weekend is going to be all baking, all weekend...I'm getting excited-er and excited-er! Heehee! (I'd say "bread weekend," but I mentioned researching crust recipes this morning and that wildebeest I married will eventually hit me with a subtle "SO WHERE'S MY PIE?" at some point. ROFL)
Being terrified happens to a lot of people, but you can eliminate the terror by keeping a couple of simple things in mind.
Maybe the most important is to remember that the worst that can happen here is a loaf or two of ruined bread - and having to scrub away the evidence I guess. ? But with all the truly bad things that can happen to people, and with the knowledge that if it does happen you and your husband will have another story to tell when you get old - "Remember that time with the bread?" - you have to admit that overall it's not that bad.
There is one exception to the "what's the worst thing" approach: Until you have your early failures out of the way, don't count on producing a batch of beautiful bread to make or break any special occasions. I mean of course make bread if you want to, just don't let yourself feel under pressure about it so you won't be disappointed if it flops.
OK... Some people are just terrified of failure itself. Leftover fear and pain, a "special gift" from the mean people and critics. If those people show up in your mind (not just their faces, but also their words, and also the feelings they bring out) - please just tell them where to go, and what to do when they get there. It's your mind, and they have no choice but to listen to you.
You give some great perspective--we're already old and it's not like the water will get turned off if my first loaf is lousy. LOL Right now, I guess it's just having the nerve to tear open that first packet of yeast. That man's a retired career soldier and has eaten some pretty "interesting" things over the years (including some of my own creations). Eh, he'll eat it... *giggle*
Hi Bonnie,
It is fun to see something on this forum I can actually help with!
I am a total beginner at bread but (even if I say so myself) I make REALLY fine pie. I would be more than happy to exchange messages, or even get on the phone with you sometime and give you a pie consultation!
The main thing with pie is to make it a lot (a pie a week for a year is the saying, and it's a good plan.) But I have a few tricks up my sleeve that can make it a little easier. Plus I have my favorite all-butter crust recipe I'd be happy to share with you.
Warmly, Jess
Hi Bonnie
I’m new here but thought I’d link to the recipe I made last week of a cherry pie. I posted the recipe here http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/60106/cherry-pie The pastry is really great and it was really easy to work with and had a wonderful buttery flavour. The original recipe is by Stella Parks the Pastry Wizard at Serious Eats. Hav a look at it, I hope you try it and let me know what you think of it.