My Bread & Butter

Dear Louisiana, 

May I begin with praising you for keeping your promise. You have brought about a lovely spring, filled with warm breezes, lightening storms, and golden skin. For these things, I thank you. But, I would not be a good friend if I did not bring certain failings to your attention. Please take these notes as ones of encouragement, stepping points for improvement. 

1. Develop more useful bodies of water, i.e. less red and less alligatory. 

2. Decrease the amount of snakes and biting ants.

3. Bring in a couple of Costcos. Seriously.

Lest you feel a little punchy at my remarks, I would like to add that you have exhibited exemplary marks for truly wonderful human inhabitants and an interesting variety of local foods. 

Sincerely Yours,

Lydia

As noted, there are no Costcos here in Shreveport, and therefore no place to buy some of our favorite foods, such as Dave's Organic Killer Bread. I, therefore, have been left with two choices: go broke trying to buy all the same foods we ate in WA, or start making the more expensive or nonexistent items from scratch. 

Enter the best bread recipe of all time (at least for me, a novice bread maker, with no bread machine and no experience in the finer arts of baking). This recipe is well documented with step-by-step instructions and pictures for homemade bread baked in your oven. I just love it!

For the past two months I have been making all of our bread. So far, I haven't veered from this lovely white bread recipe, simply because it is consistent, pretty, and chewy. It has been perfect for open-face and standard sandwiches, garlic bread, french toast, etc. 

I keep one loaf out, and freeze the other three. They last us about three weeks. Since all four loaves cost me about four dollars (I use all organic ingredients), at a dollar a loaf, that is just about the perfect price.

Possibly the best part about making our own bread: the line that forms in the kitchen when the first loaf is pulled out. All three of them with their own plate waiting for a slice of warm chewy goodness slathered in butter and honey. Not much compares. 

See? I couldn't even leave a whole slice alone long enough to take a picture.