My Excitement is Palpable

MC • 30th Dec 2008 • The Daily Nonsense • baking, boyfriend, bread, cooking, food, photo, review

So, I may be a little overexcited about how fantastic my buttermilk bread turned out. It’s sweet, it’s fluffy, it’s a normal bread-like consistency. The few times I’ve used my bread machine, I’ve ended up with less than desirable results which invariably turned into croutons. Two days ago, I decided to try again – this time by using the knead feature on my unpredictable bread machine and letting it rise in the oven.

I made Buttermilk Bread without any buttermilk. But how, you ask? By squirting about a tablespoon of lemon juice into whole milk and letting it sit for 5 minutes. It works like a charm.

While it was baking, I was a little apprehensive, it smelled like bread, it looked like bread but would it taste like bread? I’ve been fooled before, so I didn’t want to get my hopes up. It was a pleasant surprise to slice into freshly baked bread and actually have it taste like I stole it from the Merita factory nearby. I was elated. Elated about bread. Not as much as this guy, but you get my point. It’s a little quiet after the holidays, alright? Don’t judge me.

I have another cause for elation – a recent birthday present from my boyfriend’s parents: the Kenmore Elite Food Processor. I didn’t think I was that good this year. Despite the inexplicably low reviews on the Sears website, my food processor is heaven sent. It’s quiet, powerful and comes with tons of blades from kneading dough to chopping French fries. So far, I’ve only used it for smoothies but that’s only because I’m positively overwhelmed by it’s features and can’t decide what to make next.