The best thing since....

Two loaves of freshly baked honey wheat bread are cooling in the kitchen, filling the house with a warm, homey smell. Bread is one of the many things that I've routinely tossed into my grocery cart without thinking twice. It's convenient, relatively cheap — why would I invest the time and effort to make my own? I love to bake, especially when the end product is quickly realized (cookies, brownies, biscuits); for some reason bread always seemed too intimidating and finicky to be bothered with.

But that satisfying smell alone is worth a lot. Plus the significant cost savings (compared, at least, to the middle-of-the-road, not artisan but not

The local food critic seems to like it.

insubstantial-as-fluff bread that I usually buy). Plus it's really not that much work. Plus it tastes better, fresher, chewier. Okay, at least that's the goal. For my first batch I used the wrong flour (WW pastry), didn't let it rise long enough, and my loaves were short dense bricks. It made for good toast, and I sliced some of it very thin, brushed the slices with olive oil and sprinkled with parmesan or coarsely ground sea salt, then baked. These little crisps were good dippers for hummus. Batch number two rose a little higher, but was still stunted (tasted great, though).

Today's loaves look almost like real sandwich bread. At least I'm making progress.