For a year and a half, I worked as an academic librarian. As a librarian, I taught students how to research and find reliable sources, what plagerism was and how to write a paper.
I have published some book reviews and am currently a freelance writer for demand studios. Below is a sample of my work.
Do you want to be a hero to your family, friends, coworkers and complete strangers? Simply bake bread and men will fall in love with you, children will obey, coworkers won't be so crabby and you will be able to leap tall buildings to save strangers. Ok, perhaps this is an exaggeration, but baking bread for others has its pluses. The aroma of fresh baked bread alone is enough to make any home feel homey and make the stress of the day disappear.
What Is the Time Commitment?
Many people think that baking bread takes a lot of time and skill. The answer is both a resounding yes and no. Quick breads, breads that use baking powder instead of yeast, can be whipped together in no time. Even yeast breads that technically take hours to prepare, are not horribly time-consuming. After you mix together the ingredients of the yeast bread, most of the work is done by the yeast. All you have to do is wait a few hours, knead the bread and repeat as often as the recipe calls for. While the yeast is working, you are free to take your kids to soccer, go grocery shopping or read a book.
If you really don't feel comfortable making bread yourself, bread machines can be a good investment. Granted some avid bakers may call this cheating, but no one has to know that your perfect loaf of bread came from a bread machine. Just let them think your super loaf is due to your superhuman talents.
Must-Have Ingredients!
If you truly want to be a hero and make wonderful quick and yeast breads, you need good flour. Many people think that all flour is the same. In reality, there are many types, cake, all purpose, wheat, rye, bread flour, etc. The best flour for both quick and yeast breads is bread flour. Bread flour contains more gluten, or wheat protein, which makes bread rise higher and gives it a better texture. There are several good commercial flours on the market, King Arthur, Gold Medal and White Lilly. Chose any of these and your family will think you have super human powers.
True heroes are adventurous and may want to try making wheat or even rye bread. If you are feeling this heroic, you will need wheat gluten flour. You can find it in the baking aisle and is a must have for rye and wheat breads. Wheat and especially rye flour, have less natural gluten in them, so it is important to add a couple tablespoons to your recipe.
One Potential Drawback
Since your bread will not have any preservatives in it, it will not last three years like your Wonder Bread loaf. So you must share your bread or it will get stale. Don't worry, your spouse, children, coworkers and friends will happily eat it and think you are a superhero. After all, who has time to make bread?