A couple weeks ago I was invited to be part of a bread share. (The idea is that each week, one person bakes bread for everyone else in the share, such that each person only has to bake about once a month but has her table graced with bread each week.) This invitation was issued not because of any special talent (or even mediocre ability) I have for baking bread, but because of my rather incredible capacity for eating bread. We were eating out with some friends and one of them, upon noticing the way I was ravenously ravaging the bread basket, asked if I liked bread.

"Mmmm, fmmm-rmmm," I replied, my eyes lighting up and crumbs of bread escaping the corner of my mouth.

And then she invited me to join the bread share, which I agreed to despite the fact that 1) I have never in my life ever baked bread, EVER; and 2) Right, like I have time to bake bread! From SCRATCH!

Still, the community concept of it appealed to me, and I have always wanted to learn to bake bread. And so yes I said.

Last week I did my very first bread baking. I had assumed the process of baking bread would be very complicated and difficult, mostly because of the whole yeast thing. I don't really get the whole yeast thing any more than I get the whole sea-monkeys thing. (Not to mention that, as a girl, I have always believed that yeast is BAD and something to be avoided at all costs, if you know what I mean.) But the yeast part of the process actually turned out to be quite simple. There are even directions on the yeast packet - who knew?! Honestly, I've found the entire bread baking process to be pretty easy. Not as easy as pie, obviously, because if it were that easy then the expression would be easy as bread, now wouldn't it? But not too hard, nonetheless.

This is the first loaf (ever!) that I baked. I didn't give it to anyone - it was just a practice run. The shape is a little rough around the edges, but not bad for my very first loaf of bread (you know, ever!).

For my turn in the share, I made sweet potato rolls. The fun part was getting them into that shape. I divided the dough into 24 globs, Rob rolled each one into a snake, and then I tied each snake in a knot. Just like Play-Doh!

Sadly, I can't share my bread with all of you. But I will share this - it's the tutorial I used to get started, as well as the recipes I'm working through. May your homes be blessed with freshly baked bread.