We arrived at the tail end of the farmer’s market just as they were beginning to close up. Usually, we pick up fruit and vegetables, but that day fresh bread was calling our name. Because it was almost closing time, they offered us a buy one get one free deal. How could we resist? We bought two fresh loaves for $9. Without the deal, I thought the price was a little steep, but the BOGO offer made it a decent price all in.
The challenge with fresh bread is eating it before it becomes stale. We never have this issue with store bought bread because they’re chock full of preservatives. My wife’s healthy mindset kicked in and that led to trying to avoid preservatives, if possible. We decided to make fresh bread at home. We had an untouched bread maker that was in need of some fresh air. This began my adventures in bread making.
I’ve made a few loaves so far. I wasn’t as careful following the recipe and had mixed results. The first one, the dough was too wet. The second one was a little better consistency but both times, the bread came out a little dense. Probably not soft enough to make a sandwich, but not too bad for a slice with a slather of peanut butter or for avocado toast.
I found a new recipe for a soft milk bread. This recipe calls for butter and milk, ingredients I assumed were in every loaf, but were not in my previous attempts. It’s in the bread maker now. Let’s hope for a softer loaf instead of another dense brick.
As soon as I wrote that last word, the Commodore’s Brick House came to mind. Yeah, I used to like the song as a kid, but I’m not in the mood for it this morning. Too early for a little funk.
Instead, here’s a song from my mom’s radio station as a kid. Bread released Make It With You in 1970. When I hear it, I think of wide collars and long 70’s hair. It also has that yacht rock kind of feel.
This soft rock classic is a little saucy. Written by lead singer David Gates, it finds him propositioning a girl with his dulcet tones:
And if you’re wondering what this song is leading to
I want to make it with youIt’s pretty clear what he means by “make it,” although it’s certainly ambiguous enough to clear the censors.
Songfacts
I’m good with a little soft rock while baking. Hopefully the soothing sound will have some influence on the consistency of the loaf. Probably better bread making music than Brick House for sure.
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Hey, have you ever tried
Really reaching out for the other side
I may be climbing on rainbows
But baby, here goes
Dreams, they're for those who sleep
Life is for us to keep
And if you're wondering what this song is leading to
I want to make it with you
I really think that we could make it, girl
No, you don't know me well
In every little thing only time will tell
But you believe the things that I do
And we'll see it through
Life can be short or long
Love can be right or wrong
And if I chose the one I'd like to help me through
I'd like to make it with you
I really think that we could make it, girl
Baby, you know that dreams, they're for those who sleep
Life is for us to keep
And if I chose the one I'd like to help me through
I'd like to make it with you
I really think that we could make it, girl
Love homemade bread and yacht rock! But, for me it’s never too early for a little funk. 😂
Also, my niece gave me a recipe for homemade bread that comes out soft and delicious every time! No bread machine required.
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Here’s a link to the recipe in case you’re interested: https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/bread-recipe/
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That looks delicious!
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That sounds delicious! I’m a novice in the kitchen and like the “push the start button” kind of recipe. But I agree… there’s nothing like fresh bread!
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I love fresh bread. But you’re right, eating it before it gets stale is challenging. 🙂
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Bread is one of my weaknesses… lol
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Me too!
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I had to look up what a bread machine does – the trick to bread is the kneading – and the machine does it for you? Takes all the joy out of home made bread. Kneading any kind of dough becomes a matter of ‘it feels right’ which is hard to teach or learn – except by trial and error. And no, most bread recipes don’t include butter and milk. I used to make bread on a regular basis – even sold it – my herb loaf was amazing even if I say so myself. Making whole wheat bread is a trial since whole wheat flour doesn’t rise very well. Anyway, try doing it yourself – keading is such a relaxing, elemental thing – and if you ever have an entire day to spend – try making French baguettes – the dough needs to rise 3 times – but oh my – warm from the oven, slathered in butter – heaven!
As for the musical group Bread – played the song and remembered I liked them back in the day – tho my favorite was ‘If’ – can’t say that I would put them on a playlist now
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I wish I had your talent in the kitchen! My sister in law makes fresh bread without a sourdough starter. There’s nothing like her jalapeño cheese bread.
I enjoyed your description of making fresh bread. I think I’d like to eventually graduate to that someday. The entire process sounds nice. Thank you!
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I used to love that song too. “If” I mean. My first favorite song. It was in the Hardy Boys tv series that I loved at about ten years old. I don’t know if I could listen to it now; they were pretty soft rock🙂
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Someone gifted me a music box with “If” on it…A romantic song on a kids tv show? How odd…
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Right? It was there, though, the end of an episode, I think it was one of those emotionally charged ones where the characters lost a love or something. Made an impression.
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I like “If”! Pretty cool on a music box. Interesting…
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I was listening to their greatest hits. They had a lot of cool songs I recognized. “If” was a good one!
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One of my all time favorite songs❤️
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Ah yes, Bread (the band) certainly brings back those early 70s car radio memories. Definitely good baking music.
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Two fantastic sensory memories….the smell of fresh bread baking, and the sounds of my sophomore year in high school. You’re brave to take on bread baking–kudos to you!
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Very cool comment!
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I remember that song! Bread was a pretty good group, some nice songs, always liked David Gates.
The bread maker… is it the kind that looks like R2D2? They were all the rage a while back. We have one sitting in a box in the garage, last used I think around the real estate crash 😂
I remember we were at some friends, they were making a loaf… one of the little rubber foot cushion things came off and R2 was wobbly… we heard this crash and he had walked himself right off the counter 🤷♂️🤣
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Hahaha… ours doesn’t resemble R2D2 but I totally can picture it. It’s been working out pretty well. Just dump the ingredients and press start. My kind of baking.
I found a recipe for jalapeno cheese bread. I’m going to give that a try. I also found a few recipes for cinnamon raisin bread and even a pound cake. Dump it in and press start, too. May be worth the time trying it out. If you break your’s out, let me know.
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What a great idea! Love jalapeño cheese bread! They used to sell it at Costco but stopped… I’ll see if ours still works! 😎
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I bake bread (Algerian bread)
I have a recipe that I follow and the bread is so soft you can eat the entire loaf in a minute. I’ll have to translate that recipe and send it to you, because it’s not in English.
Keep trying and make more bread. Mine was hard as a rock at first, but now I learned how to make it. 😊
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I just looked it up on the internet. Algerian bread looks delicious!
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Maybe we can ship some bread to each other. I ship things to my family in California all the time.
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Let me get more practice in. Right now, it may not be a fair trade. You won’t want my “brick”.
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I’m sure your bread is just fine!
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Fresh bread is the best! Try freezing the slices to preserve them longer. 🍞
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Ah, very wise advice!
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