Not every day, but several times a week I make a loaf of bread. It sounds more impressive than it is because I really just add the ingredients into the bread machine and click start. About 4 hours after that…bread.

I’m always on the lookout for a good recipe. Recently, I have been trying to find the right mix of flour, water, oil, and such that the bread will have that fresh made feeling just a little longer. I’ll never make a loaf that is able to match the soft, store bought white bread feeling, but I do want bread that after 2 days still feels like bread and not a piece of melba toast. (I exaggerate a little, my bread just gets that dried out.) I have a fancy bread container, and I use if faithfully to try to extend the life of the bread, but it still gets that dried out feeling.

Since I’ve been on this quest for the perfect loaf, I have been reading a lot about different types of bread recipes. I enjoy experimenting with different types of combinations to make that new loaf. I already have a good recipe for french bread, pretzel bread, and pizza dough. It is just that sandwich bread that eludes me. There is nothing quite as enjoyable as a fresh, warm slice of bread with butter.

No matter what recipe you use, the right mix of ingredients is what makes all the difference. Today’s loaf is an eample. Recently I have been using a mix of white flour and whole wheat flour for my bread to improve the nutritional quality of my bread. While adding ingredients to the bread pan last night, I must have messed up the mix and added too much flour (I don’t know if it was the white or wheat, and it doesn’t really matter). Anyway, today’s loaf was anything but normal. The loaf was about 1/3 the size it normally is, and the nice round top of the loaf was replaced with a nasty looking top where you could see how the bread was mixed in the machine.

Just goes to show that the most important part of the successful loaf is following the right recipe.