I don't sew

I don't knit

I don't scrapbook

I don't quilt

I don't make jewelry

I don't make bows (the few I have made have quickly fallen apart)

I don't blog (er, I take that back) I don't make artistic, creative blogs...

BUT I can now proudly say that...

I DO BAKE BREAD!!

As in homemade bread starting from the wheat grain to a beautiful warm scrumptious loaf. Seriously, it's the proudest day for me in my short domestic life.

This certainly is not the first time I've made bread, but it's the first time that it has turned out looking and tasting like bread. Every time I've made it something has been wrong. Most recently my loaves turned out to be the exact shape of a brick... and just about the same consistency. But, thanks to an enrichment class I attended last week by a pastry chef, I learned a few things. It turns out I wasn't doing any one thing wrong, I was doing several things wrong! Start with kneading the dough. Like who doesn't know you're supposed to knead the dough? Try ME. And I wasn't adding enough flour, letting it rise long enough, or letting it rise twice. Minor details, right?

So in this day of low carb/high protein nutrition fads, why would I be so pumped about making homemade wheat bread? This is why:

Because my little peanut eats it like it's going out of style (as long as it has an inch thick spread of jam on top). Here she's literally lickin' her fingers clean. (Yeah, I know she's not looking on top of her game, but who is after a four hour nap?)

Most of you know, Caroline is somewhat ambivalent about food (gross understatement). She only eats once in awhile and when she does her diet consists of cheerios, oatmeal if you're lucky, scrambled eggs if you're really REALLY lucky, and pancakes. No fruits, no veggies, no meat, no bread, you know, all those life sustaining foods. But she does eat MY bread so I am happy to make it all the day long even if she only eats four bites (which is about her average). So take that all you domestic goddesses!! I finally mastered something besides vacuuming! And watching my family eat it makes every second worth while.