T here are few things more delicious and satisfying than a piece of AMAZING bread with butter and honey – or jam or avocado or whipped ricotta…any way you slice it, though, bread is definitely the unifying theme. Up to this point, I’ve only made my own bread in my parent’s bread maker. That stuff is delicious, but Bobby and I don’t have our own bread machine. Plus, I think it would be more satisfying (and an ode to my Irish grandmother whom, I’ve been told, used to make fresh bread on the reg). The time has come for Grace to learn how to bake bread.

No more kleenex bread for us. Bobby and I have always been pretty healthy eaters and cooks, but bread is an area where we’ve turned a blind eye. In Miami, I was making a breakfast sandwich for Bobby to eat every morning: two slices of toast, scrambled egg, a piece of ham, slice of cheese, and some delicious spread. We’d also have the occasional sandwich, garlic bread with our pasta, or slice of toast as a quick snack. Basically, we were going through a lot of bread.

I started to look at the labels of the grocery store bread and was astonished at the long, unnatural list of ingredients. (To further illuminate this point, there is currently a bag of hamburger buns sitting on our kitchen counter. The expiration date was ONE MONTH AGO and those puppies are still going strong. Not a spot of mold or discoloration on them. This makes me highly suspicious.)

My dad gifted my this amazing book for Christmas that was on my wish list: Josey Baker Bread. It had great reviews and I knew I wanted something that had beautiful pictures and a fun writing style. I read this entire book while waiting in line for an eternity at the Florida DMV, and it completely fits the bill. I wanted to start baking bread right that instant! Hilariously, that was months ago and I have to take action on any of this. However, the time has finally come. Enough with the kleenex bread! On to the real stuff!

If YOU’VE ever wanted to bake bread from scratch, you should consider joining me! Let’s share tips and tricks as we learn. Or, if you’re already a seasoned bread baker, hit me up in the comments with your wisdom. I’m all ears!

*If you’re curious about 12 Months of Making, here are some links to follow for Month One (calligraphy), Month Two (Project Life), and Month Three (making our house a home).