The Rising Of The Yeast

AJ and I got a bread maker for our wedding 3 years ago and just opened it yesterday. It's been in storage until we got a kitchen worthy of it. Finally we have that kitchen, so I thought I would try it out.

It was supposed to be cinnamon raisin swirl bread, but when I came home, groceries in hand, I realized we didn't have any cinnamon. So I found a recipe we did have the ingredients for–Parmesan Pepper French Bread.

I followed the instructions exactly (clearly labeling myself a beginner) and let the bread maker do it's thing. Around 3 hours later it hit the bake stage and it started to smell like bread in here. I was pretty proud. With 15 minutes to go, the bread really started to smell done, then a little overdone. However, rather than listening to my gut (again, being a beginner and not really trusting myself in the kitchen), I trusted the bread maker and let it go.

When it finally finished it's cycle, I opened it up, shook it for about 15 minutes before it came out of the pan and then realized that I should, in fact, have listened to my gut. The loaf wasn't a charred brick or anything, but the crust was definitely on the dark side of brown.

Aside from learning my lesson about not necessarily listening to a machine over a brain, I think it turned out pretty well! And it tastes pretty good too.

Still on my cooking to-do list is to make bread by hand, sans bread maker. I think it would be a really neat experience and I found a great, simple recipe.

Bread maker verdict: Yum. And I will definitely try to hone the art in the future!