Baking is my passion in the kitchen. And baking cookies is my favorite. Farmhouse style, wholesome cookies made from scratch and filled with nuts, chocolate, fruits and spices. But sometimes, I still bake a pie or attempt cupcakes. Cupcakes and cakes are difficult for me, I'm not sure why. Maybe I'm so tuned in to creaming and mixing cookie batters that I just don't make the transition to cakes well.
I'm better at baking bread than baking cute cupcakes however. I love to get up in the morning and decide to bake a loaf of bread. I've baked all types of bread from Italian white to wholewheat to potato bread. I've baked sourdough breads, homemade pizzas and yummy rolls. I've done my share of kneading and also used a bread machine for years. This summer, I discovered the refrigerator bread or " bread in 5 minutes" This bread recipe has been around for awhile, I'm not sure how I missed it, maybe I was too busy kneading and rising bread. And I'm not going to give up all my bread recipes that require half a day to complete either. But when you want a super easy, quick idea for artisan bread, this recipe is amazing. I like to mix up a batch for 4 loaves, and bake one every other day. The bread dough will keep in the fridge for 2 weeks.
There is something about fresh bread coming out of the oven that is hard to resist. I have tried 2 recipes, both the white and also the whole wheat. I know there is a cookbook available, which I would love to try http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/ or this website is wonderful also. I still can't believe I took so long to find these recipes. So if you need a break from chocolate chip cookies this summer, I think baking bread is a great adventure. Here's a link to the recipe, Bread Recipe in 5 minutes with fantastic instructions and photos. Enjoy!
And now on to baking up a batch of Cowboy Cookies, mixed with oatmeal, chocolate chips, pecans & M&M candies. Yum!
