On Bread and Children
I noted something the other day, as I was making bread. I follow the same recipe I have now been using for years. Each time I measure out the sugar, the yeast, the water, the flour, the oil, the salt. In breadmaking I don't guesstimate. I might guess when making biscuits or cornbread or muffins or pancakes, but with bread, I take care. I measure. I mix it in the exact same way every single time. I use the very same cycles on my bread machine. I time the last rising of the bread and heat my oven to the very same temperature and when I place that bread pan in the oven, I time it the same number of minutes that I've learned it requires in my oven. I do make mistakes at times, but I can pretty well tell you when a loaf fails why it has failed and what I missed. But there are other times when the dough is just not right without any mistake at all being made. Why? Same amount of yeast, sugar, water, flour, salt and oil. ...