This past weekend, we found that the household had run out of bread. With two growing kids at home consuming everything like human vacuum cleaners, it’s difficult to keep a little bit of anything around the house. So, we are driving home from being out and about when Deidra mentions that we forgot to go pick up some bread. Me being the baker that I am says, “I’ll just make a loaf of bread”, so the crisis was averted – temporarily.
About 6:30pm on Sunday, I pull out ye old bread machine. This bread machine is one that my Mom purchased in the late 1990’s and later passed it on to me, so I can say that it’s seen its fair share of work! I tracked down the good Honey Wheat Recipe for a guide and I loaded up the bread machine. After I put all the ingredients in the loaf pan, it is typically a “set it and forget it” ordeal. For about 3 hours and 40 minutes we heard the machine go through the phases of kneading the dough and letting it rise. Then finally in that last hour it started to bake. Man, the house was filled with that fresh bakery smell and the crowd was going wild. The kids were excited about it before going to bed. The wife and I were excited about it finishing because fresh baked bread just smells like no other!
Finally, the bread machine made its final set of chirps to let us know it was done. Aaaaaaah, it was time to see the reward. After a couple of minutes, I walked into the kitchen and attempted to lift the lid. My first warning sign – the lid was slightly stuck. Hmmmmmmmm. I looked into the top of the glass and saw what looked like the ugliest thing I have ever baked! I lifted the lid to see this sad thing that had risen to bake, stuck to the sides of the loaf pan and fallen all the way into the middle of the loaf. I wish I had taken a picture of it in the bread machine. But, I was focused on cutting the bread away from the edges so that I could unload the thing. After pulling it out, I just starred at it and shook my head. I called in Deidra and warned her how bad it was. Her response, (and I am paraphrasing) “Awwwwwwwwwww, it looks so sad” LOL. All we could do was laugh at how sad and depressed it looked.
What could have gone wrong? Maybe I added a tad bit too much yeast? Maybe there was too much liquid and all the ingredients didn’t distribute properly? Maybe it is just an old machine – nah, can’t be. I mean I have never had issues with baking bread in it before. I don’t know. At any rate, here at Jireh Provisions Homestead, you get what we get. You will not always get a polished up plate with pretty little dishes or portraits of juicy meat. We will share with you the Good, the Bad, and the Sad and today, you have gotten the Sad. With that, I hope you get a chance to laugh as much as we did. Until next time folks!