Josey Baker Bread - Lesson 1: Your First Loaf of Bread

I recently bought Josey Baker Bread after it seduced me at my boyfriend's parents house. The layout of the book, the questions & answers throughout its pages, and the writing style (easy to follow with some silliness and lightheartedness sprinkled in) really drew me in. If you've ever skimmed through other bread books, they just seem simultaneously dull and intimidating.

The book is broken into lessons - meaning you actually learn as you go and its not just a collection of recipes. The first lesson is a very simple loaf of bread. Following the recipe closely, I was able to get a pretty good loaf with one of the best crusts I have ever made (which really isn't saying much). The biggest downside was the time. When I want to bake bread, I want to be eating it a few hours later, but it looks like patience is key for these delicious recipes. 

 My biggest obstacles were my oven (why did I ever trust you, oven!?! It almost burnt my bread, but I got lucky and happened to check it early on) and the loaf pan size (I used an 8"x4" and removed so of the dough before baking - it was pooling over the pan quite a lot!). 

Based on this first lesson/recipe, I can definitely recommend any novice baker to try it out, but we shall see how this book progresses. 

Happy eating everyone!