Sunday, January 08, 2006

Making bread is not easy: ingredients, OK, but committing to being around for the whole time to time the rising and baking. And then there's the technique: unless your mom showed you, do you really know the right way to knead bread? And for how long?

So I got a bread maker (years ago). It even came with a recipe book. I dumped a bunch of ingredients into a bucket, screwed it in, selected the setting they told me to, went away for the afternoon and came home to some fresh bread. Majik!

But say you get tired of white, french, whole wheat or banana bread - just try to make a variation. It's hit and miss. Mostly miss, actually. Because each breadmaker is different, breadmaker recipes don't always work.

A raisin bread experiment flop comes to mind. Literally like a brick.

And then there's all that patience: waiting 3 hours for a loaf of bread? I'm hungry NOW! I have a half a mind to go out and buy myself some croissants... if only there were a good bakery nearby (other than the bagel place). My mouth waters thinking about those St. Maarten pastries.

I do love my breadmaker - there's absolutely nothing better than hot French bread slathered in butter. It makes it all worth it.

You know what went in it, can have it hot when you want (if you plan it right), and the price for bakery bread just doesn't compare.

Now all I need is an espresso maker - actually, I've decided that maybe a Moka Pot might be OK for me for now (with a milk frother of course).

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