Baking completely intimidates me. Cooking? Well now, I can literally do that allll day. Meal prep, ditto. But baking? It freaks me out. Something about how precise measurements are and well, I love to experiment. Which is soooo funny because I like rules! In a nutshell, baking is unforgiving. At least, that is how I’ve always approached it.
I’ve always thought that if I mastered baking bread then that would mean that I’ve “made it.” So, I put on my big girl pants and typed in “Dutch Oven Bread” in the Pinterest search bar. Bingo! I found one that proofed the bread in my Instant Pot, so out came the measuring cups, the flour, and on went the-most-determined-game-face.
Here’s what I learned.
Measure correctly.
Yep, I had literally had three things to measure and I used a one-third measuring cup instead of a one-half measuring cup for the liquid. Ya’ll, I.had.three.things.
Beauty on the inside matters.
Yep, the outside was gorgeous and the inside? Not so much. Dennis and I only ate a slice or two because it was the right thing to do after all that work. The inside was too dense to enjoy, however, we enjoyed the aroma and the crust!
The joy is in BAKING, not necessarily the results.
A meal is more than a recipe. A recipe is more than the end results. You see, the fact that I attempted to bake bread was awesome. I was proud of myself! Who cares if this first time was less than stellar. I gained experience! It was fun having playful music in the background and I got to try Einkorn wheat flour!
Just knowing that I.WAS.PROOFING.BREAD was a monumental task! Friends, I was proofing bread! You can’t master baking bread without taking that first step. And now I have learned I know what a dry pre-proofing loaf looks like. Next time I see this, I will check my measuring cups.
At the end of the day I proved to myself what I had already proved to myself… remember to embrace the little joys when it comes to food.
What is that “thing” you’ve always wanted to bake?
Eat well, my friends.
Lyndi
