Bread on Thursday

Freshly Baked Bread

First of all, thank you, everyone, for your kind comments about my patchwork and quilting efforts.  

Yesterday, when the weather forecast said it will be cooler on Thursday, with a high of only 90F, I told my daughter that I might try baking some bread, again, because I had finished the loaf of bread I had bought when I did my grocery shopping, earlier this month.  I usually don't bake in the summer, but, with the window a/c in place, I had the option of retreating to the bedroom and turning on the a/c if the rest of the house got too hot with the oven on.

I will start off with saying I am not a confident bread baker.  I have made bread from scratch a few times but, it is always a bit of an experiment where I am concerned.

To begin with, the yeast - remember when I couldn't buy any yeast at all during the first lockdown?  I had a couple of expired packets of yeast and I was not sure if they will work.  By the time my daughter was able to find some yeast to order online for me, the initial lockdown was over and the whole home made bread during the pandemic movement had passed me by!  Anyway, I was able to buy some yeast, after all, and I had it all stored in a container in the cabinet (although, I guess you are supposed to store it in the freezer?!)   

So, today, I reached into the container and took out one of the packets of active dry yeast.  Now, the first thing any bread making recipes say is check the date of expiry on the yeast.  If it has expired, they say toss it out and start with yeast that has not expired.  I turned over my packet of yeast to check the expiration date: December 2016!!!  Um...toss it out?  No way!  I decided to proof it to see if the yeast was any good - I warmed up 1/2 cup of water and sprinkled the yeast on top, covered it and kept it aside for about 5 minutes:

Proofing the Yeast

Yay!  That yeast was bubbling away and seemed very much alive to me! 

The next step, according to the instructions in my cookbook was to warm up 2 1/2 cups of milk.  Um...I didn't have milk, but, I did have some half and half that needed to be used up!  We'll have extra rich bread!  I had 2 cups of half and half and I added 1/2 cup of water to make up the needed quantity, entirely forgetting the 1/2 cup water I used to proof the yeast!  No matter.  Our air is so dry, here, anyway, that a little extra liquid would not be a problem. I'll just add a little extra flour if necessary.  The recipe said to use 5 1/2 to 6 1/2 cups of all purpose flour, using as much as was needed to make a moderately firm dough.  I kneaded the dough by hand and set it aside to rise:

The Kneaded Dough

My "warm place" was the dining room table.  I was supposed to leave it covered until the dough doubled in size.  I checked on the dough 45 minutes later:

Doubled Dough

I sent the picture to my daughter and texted, "I think it's doubled, don't you?"  She agreed.

The next step was to punch it down, tip it out onto a lightly floured surface and divide it into two.  I forgot to punch it down until I had it on the pastry sheet!  But, I was able to use the new pastry scraper my daughter had given me to divide the dough!

Divided Dough

It needed to rest for 10 minutes before being shaped into loaves and put into two greased loaf pans and kept for a second rise; the recipe said not to let it rise too far above the top of the rim of the pans.  This is how my dough looked after about 30 minutes:

After the Second Rising

I baked them in a 375F oven for 35 minutes, covering the tops of the loaves with foil for the last 15 minutes.  I cooled them just long enough for me to be able to hold one of the loaves to slice into it!

Freshly Sliced

Sorry, the kitchen light caused it to appear yellow, but, it is white bread.  Maybe the texture of the bread is a bit dense; maybe it could have risen a bit more?

Delicious with Butter

But, it was absolutely delicious, spread with a little butter, while it was still warm!  I had the second slice with some warmed up dhal curry.  

I'm keeping one loaf for use this week.  I sliced the second loaf and froze it in smaller packages, with 4 or 6 slices per package; that way, I can take out one package and have enough bread for a couple of meals, as needed, without worrying about the rest of the loaf getting stale.

Of course, by the time I finished baking the bread, the kitchen was a disaster zone!  I have four mixing bowls of different sizes and I managed to dirty all four of them!  There was flour on the kitchen counters, flour on the dining table where I kneaded the dough, dirty dishes in the sink, the used bread pans on the stove, and, after I sliced the bread, crumbs everywhere!  But, I washed the dishes - some by hand, some in the dishwasher, and restored some order.  My hand started to cramp when I was rinsing out the last plate, but, it was fine afterwards.  

In addition to making bread, I checked on Mama Cat in the morning, and she seemed a lot better, today, actually sitting out in the open and following me to the food bowl.  I gave her more food and water, again, in the evening, too.

My half-sister called in the morning and a short time after that, cousin V called.  Later in the afternoon, while I was waiting for the bread dough to rise for the first time, neighbor T's daughter K called.  She said she, her brother, and T were at the house!  They had stopped by the house before going to the assisted living facility to pick up a few items that T will need, including some clothes and her recliner chair!  She said T would love to see me if I could come over!  So, of course, I masked up and went over to say Hi to T!  But, before I went, I picked the last of the sunflowers (some of the smaller ones along the main stem were still flowering) and arranged them in a small vase that I had, along with some fern fronds, to take over.  Sunflowers are T's favorite flowers and she was so happy to receive them.  Her daughter said they will take the flowers with them to T's room at the assisted living facility.  T looked well and I'm sure she was happy that both her children were there with her.  I told her I'll be calling her to resume our Sunday morning chats, once she's settled at the facility.  I didn't stay long, visiting, just 5 minutes at the most (I wore my mask, but, of course, they weren't wearing masks), but, it was nice of K to let me know that I could see T and it was lovely to see her.  I'm not sure what visiting protocols are at the facility, but, I'll probably not go to see T, there, because of Covid concerns.  

After baking my bread and having some of it for a late lunch, I took a nap!  Afterwards, I cleaned up the kitchen, chatted with friend R, and video chatted with my daughter.  Dinner was another slice or two of my bread, with chicken curry.  Some mango for dessert.  

Today, I am grateful for:
- Being able to make bread!  The yeast actually worked!
- Phone calls with family and friends
- Getting to see T for a few minutes
- Flowers from the garden
- Afternoon naps

Today's joyful activities included visiting T and baking bread.

With the bread making and visiting, etc., I didn't get around to finishing the vacuuming.  So, that's on the agenda for tomorrow!

How was your Thursday?  What are your plans for Friday?  Do you generally bake your own bread?  If so, do you have any tips on bread baking to share?