in which i attempt bread by hand (!)

The statement most likely to come out of my mouth is by far "I wonder if I could make that myself."

That mindset has been responsible for landing me in the kitchen for hours at a time, curiosity vastly outweighing the fear that this thing I'm trying to replicate could actually turn out terrible. As of late, I've been experimenting with fall desserts (read: pumpkin everything). Today, though, I decided to try making bread.

Before I moved, I had a bread machine, but the results were underwhelming. For a long time, I've wanted to attempt bread by hand. This typically takes longer and requires more effort (thus being considered less convenient if a machine is available to you), but I've found that I tend to do it better the long way. I literally have no idea why this is--rice that I make in the cooker turns out so-so at best.

Anyway. Marcus wanted a day in, and I needed to occupy myself with something, so bread it was. I found a promising recipe for hoagie rolls and away I went!

Having never made rolls before, I admit that I wasn't entirely sure what they were supposed to look like. The dough rose wonderfully, becoming elastic and airy. I looked up a few tutorials to see what more experienced bakers favored as a technique for rolling baguettes. From what I understand, you're supposed to roll a segment into a ball, flatten it into an oval, then fold it like an envelope. The directions then said to fold it in half once more and crease it shut, then roll it out a little bit to give it a uniform shape and width. This process took some practice, but it was a lot of fun!

In retrospect, I could've stood to roll them a lot thinner (this is what first tries are for!) At the time I took that picture, they looked to be about the correct size and shape. Little did I know that they'd end up becoming...tall.

This illustrates it a little bit better--see how they puffed up and became almost bun-like in shape? That said, they'd probably make excellent hamburger buns...

So, my main rookie mistake of the day (on top of accidentally forgetting to let it rise an extra 20 minutes after shaping--chalk it up to being eager for results? Seriously, Katie, get it together!) was leaving the raw dough the size and shape I wanted it and not accounting for just how much it would change while baking. As you can see, the smallest ones were only about as big as my palm, but they were pretty thick. I'm hopeful that next time if they're rolled out thinner, they'll be more suited to sandwiches--which, incidentally, was the intended purpose for these. They'll make good side bread for dunking in tonight's Alfredo sauce instead, though, so it works!

Conversely, I was very pleased with how nicely the crust formed on these, and the end product was indeed bread. There are a lot worse ways this could have gone--for example, to my knowledge, nothing exploded. It wasn't a bad first attempt by any means, I think I mostly need to make some adjustments. That, and maybe learn some patience for a second round of rising. Something tells me that will help ensure that they come out lighter and fluffier next time!

Note that quite a few rolls went missing in between pictures. A certain partner of mine who shall go unnamed decided that he needed to sample my wares to verify that they were suitable. I fixed him a warm roll with some pesto to try, and minutes later he ran back out to the kitchen and left with three more!

My first try making bread by hand was definitely a great way to spend a rainy afternoon inside. The entire house smells delicious, and at least I know Marcus will enjoy the rest of the tray if they're not to anyone's liking. I can't wait to try them again! I have such a long list of bread I want to make soon, including but not limited to cinnamon raisin, pumpkin, banana, wheat and potentially kaiser rolls. It's funny, once you get past the initial attempt, you wonder what took you so long and just want to keep going! I'd better pace myself, or I'm going to run out of yeast by the end of the weekend!