Baking bread with Boyo

How I love baking bread. I used to do it all the time when my oldest 3 were my small ones and my small ones were not but a hidden twinkle in God's eye. When those dreams started becoming realities...well, I just stopped doing it. Between being pregnant and changing diapers, chasing toddlers and trying to keep up with everything else, home made bread just seemed something I didn't NEED to be spending my time on.

I have learned throughout all of the changes over the last year that what I "need" isn't always as cut and dried as I once thought it was. I have learned (with much help from both God and Big daddy) that, I am valuable on a different level than I ever even considered before. I have learned that, as a human being, it is ok for me to do things for others that don't require sacrifice on my part; things that I enjoy even. I have learned that it is not selfish to do something just because it makes me happy to do it. That's a HUGE difference in my mindset. ALOT of walls had to be broken down in my psyche to get that one little lesson through to my heart.

Thank God He doesn't give up on tough cases!!

That being said, I love to cook and bake. Bread especially gives me a kind of satisfaction when it is done that I don't get from anything else. I don't know if it just that I am doing something for my family that provides more than just enjoyment, but actual sustenance. I don't even know if it is that deep. It may just be that it's fun  :) Regardless, I love making bread.

Over the past 2 weeks I have had the awesome opportunity to help my eldest daughter, via FaceBook and text messaging, perfect her own bread making adventures. She did the work, I only provided pointers from experience, but it felt so good to do so. Anything that connects me to her feels good. Anything we can share with us being so far apart blesses my heart in a huge way. 

I have also had the opportunity to actually teach my oldest son how to make bread. It was fun! He is fun in general, but doing this, seeing his appreciation for the work that goes into it and the joy on his face when the dough rose double like it was meant to, when the loaves went into the oven and when he finally got to look at the finished product cooling on the table...it was indescribable :) I loved it, He loved it. And after 6 fresh loaves and a dozen rolls (which we had with some ham and bean soup for lunch) everyone is still ecstatic about his newly developed skill!

This is his first loaf of sweet potato bread. Yay Boyo!!

Rolls with soup, bread with dinner, toast with pumpkin spice cream cheese...it's been a wonderful experience to share this heartfelt satisfaction with my kids. I'm planning on making bread a regular thing in my life again this year. I have some recipes of my own that I want to hone and perfect.

When the 8th Square opens, whenever that dream comes true, I am sure bread will be a big part of our unique and eclectic menu.

Big Daddy said I need to invent a way to mass produce with the same quality...no thanks. I will stick to family and friends.