1) English muffin bread. OMG awesome. Rose really well, tastes fantastic. Not that you’d immediately say, “English muffin!”, but it definitely has a distinctive flavor and texture that’s English muffin-line. I took most of the first loaf to a party, where it was a big hit. Makes great toast, and was the first bread I’ve made so far that I used for an actual sandwich. (Ham & cheese, nom nom nom!)
2) Country fair white bread. I may have messed this one up a little by leaving it on the 2nd rise for too long. Seriously, I put it in the microwave — not on, but with hot water for a accelerated rise (!) — and completely forgot it was there while I was doing yardwork. It seemed a little more dense than I was expecting, and that may have been why, but I’m not 100% sure. In any case, it too has a good taste and texture — made for good toast with jam this morning. Tomorrow I’m going to see what it’s like as a sandwich bread, which is one of my ultimate goals in bread-making: to replace store-bought bread. It was a little more complicated than the other breads I’ve made — before the 2nd rise adding butter, egg and powdered milk. (Actually, the English muffin bread also had powdered milk added before 2nd rise.) But not particularly difficult in any case.
None of these have been what you’d call difficult, really, which is what makes it such a wonderful thing. The hardest part is working out the timing. I have to have a few hours at the end for the 2nd rise and baking — although maybe next time I’ll try the delayed 2nd rise (4-24 hrs in the fridge) since then all I need to do is let it get to room temperature…I’m assuming it can do that while dinner is cooking and then bake after.