The Knead To Feed

As I continue to develop new skills in fitness and in the kitchen, I have found yet another new department: baking. I have been making a killer banana bread over the past several weeks, each time with a slight modification depending on how I feel and what we have on hand. Recently, however, I have decided to dive into "yeast baking" or traditionally baked breads using active yeast and the kneading/proofing process. I have only been at it for about three weeks, and I am having a lot of fun (probably because I am getting it right now!) I will officially stop buying breads and instead pay a fraction of the cost and buy flours and yeast and use my own muscle to knead out dough. By the way, it is a terrific arm workout as well as a good lesson in patience.

Today I made a 100% whole wheat loaf of bread and rolls from a recipe from a church member, which turned out great! Also, I used my go-to "Joy Of Cooking" cookbook to help with making bagels and a whole-wheat pizza crust. We ended up eating 5 of the 8 bagels, so I know that's a hit, and our two 12-inch hand-tossed pizzas were outstanding! We used fresh vegetables and even our herbs were picked from our herb garden outside. Knowing that we made the entire thing from scratch with no artificial ingredients or even sauce was awesome! That's right--we used sliced tomatoes for one pizza and for the other I used some of the smoked-onion barbecue sauce that I also made from scratch last week! Trust me, folks, when you start to try new things in the kitchen, you will begin to appreciate natural, wholesome foods as well as the processes and the culture that these foods stem from. The only key is to maintain moderation in your food testing! Lol! Have fun, everyone, and have a great weekend! Thanks for reading!