Homemade Bread!

I LOVE homemade bread, but I was always so intimidated by the thought of baking bread for the family. I could count on one hand the number of times I had made it in the last 12 years of marriage. My mom even bought me a Whisper Mill wheat grinder a few years after we got married and I had used it once. I would be shocked and amazed at the people I knew who made homemade bread every week for their family - putting them in the ranks of "super mom".

When I was a teenager my dad bought of top of the line bread maker and started making bread. I remember how excited he was to throw all the ingredients in at night, set a timer and then wake up in the morning to fresh made bread. My mom never was quite as excited about it - she didn't like the thick crust of the bread maker bread. After a little while the bread maker was collecting dust under the counter.

Fast forward about 18 years...I'm talking to several friends that I admire and I find out that they are avid bread makers. Shocked and amazed I ask, "how do you find the time?" They all had bread makers. But what about the yucky crust? They just use the dough setting and the bake in the oven - of course!

Next day I call my mom - "Do you still have that old bread maker that dad bought?" She did and it still worked! For the past month I have been trying it out and making different kinds of bread for the family (white, wheat, rolls, cinnamon rolls, pretzels, etc). It's so easy and I realize that you don't have to be a super mom to make bread. You just need an old bread maker from your dad and a few good recipes. The kids and Scott love it and an added bonus is the fond memories I have of my dad every time I bake bread.