Bread Success

Today I'm in the process of making my second loaf of bread, but here's my first one. I have to admit that while I was watching it bake it looked kind of funny, too round and ball-like and kind of shiney. It also seemed to be getting too dark too fast, but the crust wasn't really crusty. And when I cut into it the crumb was really fine and sort of dense, more like a sandwich bread. I realized it was because I used unbleached all-purpose flour instead of bread flour (which my store didn't have), but also the recipe I used, from The Bread Bible, was for a finer crumb and a softer crust (due, I assume, to the moisture in the oven while baking).

After I got over my initial disappointment, I really enjoyed this bread for what it was, and decided that maybe the whole crusty-crust, big-holed bread thing was overrated. It was so nice to toast this up and spread butter and jam on it, or make an open-face sandwich with it. That's why I'm making it again. I'm baking it in a loaf pan this time, though, just to change things up a bit.

It turned out to be pretty easy, spread out over a few hours but only requiring a couple minutes of attention at a time. I used the kitchen scale for all the measurements except the honey, yeast and salt, and I think that helped, too. Maybe if I get ambitious I'll post the recipe, but now my next loaf calls.