My New Hobby: Baking

I don't know what's going on with me lately. Perhaps it's the "mom brain" or my mind has turned to mush. I've been craving knowledge lately. I've had my max of cartoons, video games and Old Maid. I want to learn something new. I've been wanting to learn to bake bread for quite a while and finally got brave enough to start trying. I actually wrote an article about my first time baking bread and found it to be quite comical. I survived a tasty bread but that wasn't enough for me. There are tons of recipes out there on the internet for bread and it is very overwhelming for someone who has never been taught the basics of baking bread. My goal in this new baking hobby is to have that signature recipe that's all mine. One that I've mastered and people ask me specifically to make. That must be the Italian coming out of me. I love it when people take seconds of my meals, especially my desserts. So my new mission right now is to learn to bake bread.

As if it isn't enough for me to focus on one thing at a time, I can't just make one loaf of bread and call it quits. Yesterday, I also made cinnamon rolls from scratch. My daughters and I ate several rolls this morning and gave most of them away to neighbors and family. This new hobby of mine is not going to be so kind to my waistline. Oh, and I almost forgot. I also made noodles from scratch as well. I created a chicken and noodles with vegetables for dinner, all in the same day. That was a huge hit. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. No, I don't have a bread machine or a pasta machine. I'm doing this the right way.... all by hand. There's something about that airy feeling when I punch down the soft dough with my fist and the aroma filling the house. Note to self: get more flour!