Fallen Bread

I used to be an avid bread baker. In a world of just barely post-college kids, that kind of domesticity was unique so I gained a reputation. Folks banded together for one of my birthdays to give me a bread maker and slowly, but surely, I stopped making bread. I love bread - it's one of my top five foods. I love fresh bread, especially; but using a machine took all the fun out for me. There's just something about getting my hands in the dough, massaging and pounding until the texture transforms. It's probably the closest I'll ever get to sculpture, which is a very alluring art form.

Recently I started making bread again. I have an 800 page bread cookbook that talked me into it, despite the soaring summer temps. The last few loaves have been lovely so today I took a detour to wheat bread. It's a little harder to activate the gluten in wheat flour so wheat breads can be quite finicky. This particular recipe was a "batter" bread, which doesn't require kneading. It seemed odd, given the gluten problem, but the book told me to do it; who was I to argue? The lack of kneading already took some of my fun away but it seemed like a good solution since Puddin' was fighting naptime. The dough took much longer to rise than the recipe said - already a bad sign - and then fell during baking. I now have a brick of wheat bread with the density of a sponge and the texture of cardboard. The taste isn't bad but it's got a lot to compensate for and doesn't come close to the task.

I'm going to be on the lookout for ways to repurpose the bread. If you've got any suggestions I'd love to hear them.