Huh? You don't do that?
Well today was just one of those days when it wasn't too hot (which it soon may be) and not too cold (like it was all through January), but in fact it was just right. Foot test approved.
So I of course wanted to take advantage of this warm weather, which in turn warmed my kitchen, which in turn made it the perfect temperature for bread rising. Seriously, just perfect! Sometimes in winter, it gets too cold for my bread to rise in any reasonable amount of time...so I resort to artificial heat. Bad idea. Very. Bad. Idea. Never use your oven to help speed along your rising time. It's the most definite way to kill your yeast. And you're talking to a serial yeast killer. Just know that if you bake bread during the winter (yes, even California winter), you're going to have to be patient and increase the rising time.
And during the summer, it's just too hot to play with yeast and a hot oven. And honestly, who wants bread during bikini season? Ok, I do. Which is precisely why I don't bake bread in the summer.
But today was not summer or winter and was just ripe for bread baking. What I luv about bread baking is the smell. The smell of the yeast waking up in the warm milk, and of course, the smell of the bread baking wafting through my apartment. I just open the oven and inhale sometimes...all the time. But I try not to. Bread doesn't like to be disturbed.
Even when you take it out of the oven, you're supposed to let it cool completely.
Who are they kidding? How is this possible when bread is best enjoyed warm and when the bready smell is at its pick?
I would also say that bread is best accompanied with jam.
And then you can spoon some of the warm jam on your warm bread, like so.
Luckily, this white bread was pretty easy to make, so I didn't feel bad eating it faster than I could measure out the 4 cups of flour.
And it's not even breakfast! There's a cinnamon roll recipe I've been checking out...hopefully the weather cooperates.
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