My First Homemade Bread

So I have never baked with yeast before. I know, it's terrible. I have been missing out on such a wonderful world of yeast-involved recipes! For some reason I've just always been scared to try...

Last semester I discovered that my friend knew how to make bread. WITH YEAST. So obviously I had to have him give me a crash course in breadmaking. It was time to face my fear. The big event took place last weekend when my friend came over to teach me how to make a cheese loaf. I was so excited... and nervous. We made a loaf with cheese rolled into it as well as individual buns with cheese sprinkled on top. The process was a lot longer than I had anticipated - it took us about 3 hours in total.

We used the following recipe: Basic White Bread - Robin Hood

Waiting for the yeast to activate, mixing, kneading, rising, punching, rising, baking... I can see why the majority choose to buy their bread from the store/bakery.

But let me tell you how satisfying it was to see the beautiful, aromatic buns and loaf pulled from the oven with a perfectly golden brown crust underneath a bed of melted cheese. It was so delicious with a lovely texture, and knowing we had made it ourselves made it THAT much better. I really don't know why I was so terrified of using yeast, it's really quite simple.

Aren't they cute?!

First homemade bread = success!

Slicing the loaf reveals a beautiful swirl of cheddar... yum

Cheese + bread = true love 



So now I'm obsessed. I have to make up for those yeastless baking years and there are tons of recipes I can't wait to try! Next we'll hopefully make a cinnamon raisin loaf - I'm pretty excited for that one.

Thanks Mack :)