Bread (The Making Of)
What happens when you have a broken collarbone and end up stuck at home for way too long, baking it seems, specifically bread. Admittedly using a bread maker since using a rolling-pin one-handed isn't ideal, but still...
In truth I haven't made bread in over 20 years, and while the ingredients haven't changed the ease of making it definitely has. As I like to try different combinations of ingredients with any meals I make I'm looking forward to mixing things up (and likely creating some awful combinations in the process).
To start things I went with a ready-mix white loaf, which I thought was the safe choice (it was not). As it turns out, rushing through the measuring of the ingredients and not checking how the initial kneading was progressing, results in a bad loaf...
The first attempt (which clearly didn't rise)
For my second attempt I decided to go with a ready-mix sourdough, but this time spending time getting the ingredients measured correctly (and also adding some herbs for good measure). The results were significantly better with the loaf tasting good and having a good consistency throughout.
The second attempt (risen correctly and tasted great)
To make things interesting my third attempt was a wholemeal loaf made without the ready-mix flour. This time it was the real deal, with the salt, sugar, olive oil, and yeast. The result; interesting. While the top looked a little crazy, the taste was great (as was the consistency). While I didn't add any herbs/spices this time, it was good to see that the blend worked.
The third attempt (not a smooth top but the consistency was there)
As for what comes next, more... Aside from testing the different types I want to experiment with additional ingredients (past the obvious) to see what works/what doesn't. Regardless of any combination failures, it still smells great :-)