by Melissa Cavanaugh

Created on: January 12, 2009   Last Updated: September 19, 2011

Need a vacation? Try baking bread. At first glance, breadmaking may appear to be a sort of workweary chore, but is actually one of the most relaxing, healing activities a person can enjoy. There is something about the use of one's hands, the repetitive kneading of the dough, that can be better than an hour in your therapist's chair.

We all realize that we are living in a society of "hurry up!" and instant gratification. Dinner is as easy as pulling into a drive-thru and bringing home an array of transfats, chemicals, and astronomical calorie counts. If we require a loaf of bread, we need to look no further than the shelf at the local gas station. There is no sense of satisfaction in eating cardboard-tasting, mass-produced waste. Try baking a loaf of bread, and as you knead the dough with your own two hands, you will contemplate the delicious aromas that will soon fill the kitchen and your family's bellies.

If you need a break from the world, and are ready to make delicious bread, read on! It will take you a good 2-3 hours to prepare the bread. The baking time is approximately 35 minutes. Once you get a whiff of that fantastic dough baking, you'll be sitting on your hands to avoid digging right in.

It always amazes me that such a small grouping of ingredients can create such a delightful treat. You'll need: measuring cups and spoons, mixing bowl, 2 lightly buttered baking pans. For your ingredients, you'll need: 3 cups warm water, 2 packets active-dry yeast, 1/4 cup white sugar, 1 TB salt, 1/3 cup melted butter, 7-8 cups all-purpose flour. Don't be afraid to dive right in. It's about the experience.

Combine the water, yeast, and 1 TB of the sugar. Dissolve the yeast, and let it rest for 5 minutes. Add the rest of the sugar, salt, butter, and 2 cups of the flour. You can do this with a mixer if you prefer, but I like imagining I'm a pioneer woman, mixing for my family in our log cabin with nothing but a spoon, bowl and my own sheer will. Add the rest of the flour, a cup at a time, until the dough can bounce back a bit when pressed. You may need a little more or a little less flour.

Kneading dough is basically just using the poor thing as your punching bag. Release your aggressions now. I use the heel of my hands and press that dough. Do this for 10 minutes, then throw your poor creature into an oiled bowl and cover with a towel. Let it rise for about an hour, or until doubled. Once it's doubled, punch down, form into 2 loaves, and put into the buttered pans. Try this variation: form the loaves into roundish, free-forms and put them on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle a little garlic, basil, and cheedar cheese on top for a bakery-type specialty bread. Let your dough rise one more hour, then pop your pan into a 400 degree preheated oven for 35 minutes. It's done when it is a beautiful golden-brown and when you tap it, you hear a hollow sound.

Bread is at its best when it's still warm and you've spread butter over your fresh slice. You will have a feeling of great accomplishment and of conquest. Breadmaking is suprisingly addictive. If this is your first time, it won't be your last. If you're already a lover of this process, as I admittedly am, can't you just smell that warm, freshly baked bread? I can.

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