Baking bread

I recently read the book Make the Bread, Buy the Butter: What You Should and Shouldn't Cook from Scratch--Over 120 Recipes for the Best Homemade Foods, by Jennifer Reese. I'd always heard that bread is very easy to make at home, but this was the book that pushed me to actually try it.

The verdict? Everyone was right, and I have no need to purchase artisan bread ever again.

This bread is dense, with a thick, crispy crust, and I added poppy seeds and sunflower seeds for extra flavor. I brought these two fresh loaves to my parents' house for Christmas, and everyone seemed to enjoy it.

I will experiment with increasing the ratio of whole wheat flour to all-purpose white flour (the recipe calls for 1 3/4 C whole wheat to 5 1/2 C white), and with adding more types of seeds and nuts.