culinary challenge #1: homemade wheat bread

i've been wanting to bake our own bread for some time now. i've mastered cinnamon rolls and pizza dough (two other yeast breads) i figured that it couldn't be too hard to make regular whole wheat bread from scratch. and guess what.....total success! i used the recipe for quick rising white bread from the joy of cooking, and made their suggested modifications to make a tasty wheat bread.

from start to finish it was a long process because there are two periods of rising time (of an hour to an hour-and-a-half) needed. the actual hands-on prep time is quick and easy, and kneading the large mass of dough is a great work out for your arms, upper back, and abs. makes up for the fact that this mama was too tired to hit the treadmill today after her daughter's early wake up scream this morning.

the ingredients are simple and few: active dry yeast, water, flour, melted butter, salt, sugar. i think that was is. and the actual preparation is quite basic. the waiting really is the hardest part, if you're like me and addicted to baked goods. fresh bread hot out of the oven is one of my weaknesses, so the rising time was dreadful, and the baking time even more torturous still as i could smell the warm, comforting scent of bread wafting throughout the house. and then the cooling and waiting. GAH! deathly! i see mah bread, i wants to eat mah bread. gimme mah bread!

then.....ooooHHHOoooo. totally worth the wait. spread with a little butter and some fresh local star thistle honey i bought at the farmer's market last weekend. to! die! for! i'm giving myself a pat on the back for kicking ass in the inagural bread baking challenge, and giving myself a pat on the tummy to soothe the bloated belly that resulted from eating a few slices...maybe many few slices. maybe almost a loaf. shhhhh. i wouldn't want it to get stale, right?