The Best of Bread

A great record album of my mispent youth was "The Best of Bread". Not a very rebellious group. One not known for getting into trouble. But the music is still good. I think "If" is still one of the most beautiful songs ever. But....I am dating myself!

This entry is really about actual bread. Not money. Not the group. You know...the kind you eat. This weekend I made my first batch of homemade english muffins. It sounds easy enough, right? Well, here's a spoiler...it requires yeast. Who knew? It all started when I became addicted to Thomas' cranberry muffins. I LOVE THEM! I can't get enough of them. But, apparently, they only make them around the holiday season. I bought up all the leftovers at my local grocery store last month and am hoarding them in my freezer as I write this. It occurred to me that after the frozen ones are gone, what am I going to do? How will I get my cranberry muffin fix?

I proceeded to go online to try and find where else they might have some more that I could buy. It quickly became apparent that there were no more to be had. Bummer. So I took a big step. I actually went to a recipe page and started searching for recipes. Then I realized that all the recipes included the dreaded ingredient.....yeast! Now, when I was in high school, and not having much of a life, I did spend a summer baking homemade bread while listening to "Bread" on the record player in the adjoining room. I had plenty of time on my hands and lots of creativity bursting forth. Wow, was I pathetic. So, to a certain extent, I have had experience with yeast. And the one thing I learned about yeast is that in the right hands, under the right conditions, it can be manna from heaven. However, if you don't know what you are doing, it can turn ugly but not in a hurry. In fact, nothing related to yeast happens in a hurry. You won't know things have gone bad until you taste it.

Embarking on my first yeast voyage in some years, I was slightly nervous. In fact, I flubbed the second step in the english muffin recipe. But, I forged ahead. I didn't have white bread flour so I substituted wheat bread flour. I mixed, kneaded and rested. It rose like it was supposed to. I put on the hot griddle and a cooked those babies for ten minutes on each side. And then.....(drum roll)... the moment of truth.

Nyah. Not bad. Not good, but not bad. Especially warm, with butter slathered generously on top. They were also a little light on the nooks and crannies. And a little yeasty-tasting. Oh well, better luck next time. I think I'll throw some craisins into the next batch when this batch is all gone. If it ever is.... It's still sitting there. Six of them, uneaten.