The Joy of Homemade Bread

There’s something wonderful about doing nice things for people that could use some nice things done for them.  Recently, I started making my bread homemade by hand.  It tastes better, lasts longer, and is just plain awesome when you get down to it.  Especially considering how honestly easy it is to make....

Cooking and baking are crazy little things, so many things can go wrong, and frankly people are just afraid or lazy about the prospect.  I don’t really blame them, I’ve always been kind of scared to make my own bread, when its already decently cheap from the store.  I guess that changed when I first ate at Panera Bread.

Fact is, Panera Bread makes friggin’ awesome bread.  It’s a wonderful place to get eat soup, or sandwiches, or deserts.  They might be a bit overpriced, but yeah, you find the right sandwich, or put a soup in a bread bowl, and if you aren’t hooked, you are dead inside.  Okay, maybe that’s a bit harsh, but man its good.

Every time I’d go in, I’d wonder if I could make the bread like they do, have it at home for far less cost.  Finally one day I tried it.  I found several recipes online, some that seriously only take an hour.  After that, I was taken by how easy it was, and how great is was.  Recently, I put up a post about the The Great Pizza Experiment, and seriously, that is nothing but a spawn off of my making bread.  And that pizza Lisa and I made, yeah, best pizza I’ve ever eaten.

But this story is about how nice it is to do nice things.  Somewhat recently Lisa had a family member pass away.  The woman was old and had an amazing life that most can only dream of.  But as the family was waiting for her to pass, Lisa thought it would be a great idea to do something nice for her family.

Four hours later, we pulled the bread out of the oven and took it over there.  It was still hot when we arrived, and the people there tore into it.  Lisa was in another room, and I was sitting playing a game while they all commented on how it was the best bread they’d ever had, and how great a job Lisa did.  It was fun hearing their comments, as I’m the one who made the bread, so it was more genuine.  It made me feel a ton better, doing such a nice thing.

Warm bread straight out of the oven is something amazing, but when you give it to people who just need a nice thing in their life at that moment, yeah, priceless.  And in the end, incredibly easy.  It might sound daunting, but learning how to make my own homemade bread has been a wonderful experience, in many ways.  I am forever changed because of it.

–Dan