I really love baking bread but its been a long while since I have done it. I was recently inspired by my morning toast. Biting into my breakfast, I paused to truly appreciate how fantastic it tasted and in the same I had the realization that I can do this, in fact, I have done this and better yet- why the hell did I stop?

There are very few things in my kitchen that come prepared, processed or packaged. That being said, it was routine in my trip to the co-op to pick up a loaf of bread (organic, locally produced blah blah..). I have decided to eliminate this from my ritual. Bread is easy, simple and as far as I’m concerned…there is nothing like a warm fresh out-of-the-oven homemade loaf.

In the past I have made mostly your typical, loaf- pan style, sandwich breads. This time around I want to venture into the unfamiliar. I really enjoy French breads…baguettes and the like. Soft airy middles, the lovely textured crispy crusts. How do they do it? Well, heres me attempting to find out.

First, I did my research…pouring over books and various online sources. I found a bread recipe that sounded feasible. It called for your basic ingredients..yeast,salt, flour, water. Measure, mix, knead, let rest & rise, punch it down, shape it, allow it to double and bake the bastard. In the end, you should end up with a golden, crusty, football- shaped loaf. Well, I should say- you ideally end up with what I had described. It failed to work out that way for me- I went through a couple different doughs, both times they ended up in the trash. Damn..what was I doing wrong? My doughs were not rising. They sat, heavy in the bowl, not budging an inch in any direction. I followed the directions but every time I unveiled the dough it lay there, clearly unmoved by my efforts. I took to my computer and searched for answers. I found the problem(s).

The first step is to awaken the yeast. You take a packet of active, dry yeast and add in the proper amount of hot water (110-115 degrees to be exact). Then you add the flour & salt slowly to the mix. Here is where I went wrong. First off, when I cook I rarely measure things out- I do rough interpretations of amounts and temperatures..one cannot take that luxury in baking. You have to be spot on. I did not check the temperature of the water, which in the end turned out to be so hot it killed the yeast immediately. I also made the mistake of not giving the yeast and water time to mingle (I found that you’re supposed to give it a few minutes, until you see it bubble a bit- there needs to be evidence that you have in fact made the yeast “active”- reasonable eh?). The final insult was that I added the salt to the yeast with the water. Bad news- the salt in that potent form added directly to the yeast kills it as well. This yeast thing is quite delicate… I feel like such a newbie-Im obviously very much out of practice.

I ran across another food blog that aided me greatly- foodiefarmgirl.blogspot.com. Really, a wonderful site. Not only super helpful but also inspiring. I took what I had learned from not only that site but a few other sources and tried again. This time I was successful. My first loaf of French bread. Its not the best loaf ever produced but it is the first I have produced so in my eyes it is fantastic. I have some work ahead of me. I know they will get better with practice and Im only too happy to take on this new venture. They will evolve to be more airy, more crusty, more tasty. Its going to take patience and practice.

For now, Im proud of my very first loaf. I’m even more proud that when I went up to the grocery to pick up a few things I could have danced past the bread aisle. There is nothing more fulfilling to me, than being self sufficient.

Which leads me to a new adventure altogether- what about the yeast? I can brew my own right? The art of starter…