Homemade bread is DELICIOUS! At least, it can be if you do it right. My first bread making endeavor occurred about a year ago. I was so nervous and excited! I knew it would be a challenge, but I was up for it. I made sure to follow the directions my mother had given me (from her red & white BH&G cookbook) VERY carefully. Unfortunately, after taking it out of the oven, I was less than impressed. It felt too dense.
Maybe it will soften after it cools, I thought hopefully.
It was a disaster! The crust was too hard and the bread was still too dense. It tasted okay, but I was expecting perfection! Perhaps I shouldn't have had such high expectations.
Unwilling to give up on the art of baking bread, I sought out any information I could find on different types of bread machines. That should take care of the issue! I'd been lusting after this beautiful Cuisinart for several months, but opted to wait until after Christmas to buy it. Good thing I did, since my mom had sent me a bread machine from a different brand. It does exactly the same thing as the Cuisinart, it's just not as pretty. But I'm not in this for looks!
I purchased everything I would need to make bread in the machine, incuding bread flour and new yeast. I followed the directions carefully (again) and set the machine to do it's job. 3 hours later, I had a loaf of bread with a fallen top. That's right...THE TOP OF THE BREAD HAD SUNKEN IN. After searching many, many message boards and websites, it seems I'm not alone. So I ask you, dear readers, WHAT IS THE POINT OF HAVING A BREAD MACHINE??? Is it the convenience of not having to knead the dough? I'm not sure what went wrong, but the battle with the bread isn't over yet!
