I have spent a lot of time in the kitchen this past week. I have made 4 loaves of Beer Bread, my annual lamb cake, and then today, Chocolate Chip Banana Bread. This morning, on our call, Squatch asked if I was ok, because in the past, I would bake for stress relief. Yes, there is always stress, especially with everything going on in the world lately, but I’m not baking from stress.

I had completely forgot how much I enjoy being in the kitchen and baking bread. I forgot what it smells like as the bread is baking in the oven, the smell as it is cooling off, the sound as the knife slices into the crispy crust, and the taste of that freshly baked bread as it melts on your tongue. Now, the bread I’ve been baking is no-knead, so I’ve not had that opportunity to get any frustration out. I’ve three yeast packets up at the lake, and I plan on baking Amy’s bread, from “A Farmish Kind of Life,” this weekend. If you don’t know Amy, check out her site, podcast, or YouTube channel. She rocks.

Back to the bread…I have not baked bread like this in a few years. I have made cinnabuns and Irish Soda Bread, but that’s pretty much it. I have not made my Gramma’s dinner rolls in ages, mostly because you truly need a whole day to make them. Now that Little Man is getting bigger and able to entertain himself for longer stretches of time, those rolls will be making a comeback. The only reason I have the recipe is because I sat with Gramma two or three times while she made them, noting down the ingredients and instructions. I’ve shared the recipe with my aunts and cousins, and I’m the only one who has been able to successfully recreate them (Boo-ya!). I’ve had several people tell me to start making sourdough, and it is definitely on my list of things to start. I tried to make a sourdough starter years ago, but had zero luck with it. I will wait until I’m reunited with Squatch again to work on the sourdough though, no sense in getting it ready down here when I’m hoping to be back Nort in the next two weeks or so.

What’s your go-to bread? My pretzels and breadtzel rolls will be coming up in the near future as well, so keep an eye out for those recipes!