On bread

Bread - I love everything about it. Last month, my sweet G volunteered us to make 25 loaves of bread for the Christmas party at the office. This would be 25 loaves of bread that I would not be tasting. I mixed. I kneaded. I rised. I shaped. I rised again. I baked. I did not put the Kitchen Aid or the ingredients away for a week! The bread was devoured at the party and some of it found it's way to homes as far away as DC. A few partial loaves found their way back to our house and we were able to enjoy them, as well. Did I mention that my sweet mother in law sent me a breadmaker for my birthday? It arrived in the evening on the night that I had finished making the last of the loaves.

It was an enjoyable bread experience, but I didn't want to see bread again for a long while.

Then it happened! I wanted bread! After all, it had been three weeks since the loaves had gone to their new homes.

So, I pulled the new breadmaker out and grabbed a cheater box of Hawaiian bread mix. The breadmaker did a fabulous job of mixing, kneading, rising and baking that loaf. The bread was wonderfully light and sweet and hit the spot!

It was on! Bread was to be a part of my life, again :)

Yesterday, I pulled out the Kitchen Aid to prepare a Challah braid that would accompany our supper. It was a wonderful feeling. I mixed. I kneaded. I rised. I cut, shaped and braided. I rised again. I baked. The kids ate. That loaf took a total of 3 and a half hours to prepare and short of an hour later, it was gone.

Now, don't get me wrong. I know that the bread was appreciated. But I don't think that the time invested was appreciated.

Several options come to mind when attempting to find a remedy for my dilemma. First, I could just buy bread at the store. Marketside guarantees the lowest price on wheat sandwich bread in the valley. Yes, it does the job, but it really is lacking in the "fresh from the oven" flavor. Second, I could step up production and make a mess of loaves on a specific day, each week. That would give us enough bread to last the week (I hope), and I would be working my tail off for an entire day. Third, I could put the new breadmaker to work every morning when I get up. The new routine would be: coffee, breadmaker, yoga, step. Fourth, I could kill the kids and eat the bread myself.

Obviously, this isn't something that I can easily decide. I'll think on it further.