Peasant Bread

hmmmm.... my bear making blog has become a bread making blog....and my bread baking blog has become... well, it has just mostly become neglected right now. No matter..... bread is being baked!!











.... tomatoes are being used......





















extra fiber is being added in the form of multi- grain flour....










which results in this yummy brekky ..... eggwhite omelet on Tuscan Peasant Bread....courtesy of Susan who had the link on her site the other day.

Up until only a few months ago I was still afraid to try baking bread. There are probably several reasons why and I'm not even going to get into the rest of them ... ..... but, one of the simplest?.... I was just afraid.... (although Sarah did make a point, and now I wonder if I should use the word intimidated instead) of yeast. Yep.... just one of those silly things. Yeastphobia I guess. But, in fact.... afraid of what? Failure? big deal....we all fail at lots of things all the time. Can't figure out why bread seemed such a monumental one but apparently, to me, it was.....

Then, as the story goes ... I began reading a blog belonging to a guy who was fairly new at some baking... he had even joined the Daring Bakers...then, all of a sudden he was getting a Kitchen Aid mixer .... making Yule Logs with all the icing and meringue mushrooms and everything!.. then it was on to specialty breads, and... well, that just did it! I'm not even sure why...but, for some reason, I figured if Lewis could do it.... why not me?

Now, I'm proud as punch with my new found ability... maybe I will even go so far as to use the word prowess. My loaves are pretty darn great if I say so myself. It's like being in a time warp when the aroma begins to waft through the house. Reminds me of a school friend's house. Barb's Mom baked all the time and it was amazing to walk into the heavenly smells coming from that small farmhouse kitchen.

It is still amazing to me to smell it here in my own kitchen.....to see a professional looking loaf in my oven...or on my countertop.....it makes me giggle or chortle right out loud and say congratulatory things to myself.... and it sure feels great to have finally jumped in and popped up swimming!

Now, if I just had enough nerve to really embarrass myself by showing my first attempt at trying to applique a Christmas tree onto a little stocking.... .... ohhhhh.... man....it is feeble... why can't that be as easy as baking bread?
Think I'll just go practice a bit more.....see ya.....