firsts – Emerald Thunder

Is this a New Year’s Resolution? Who knows? Maybe this lasts, maybe it doesn’t. All I know right now is that I made my best loaf of bread ever today! And I want to celebrate that personal achievement.

Coming off of watching 40 episodes of The Great British Baking Show over the holidays, I needed to make *something,* but a sugar-overload during the latter half of the year has put me off sweet baked goods for a bit. It also seems more reasonable to eat an entire loaf of bread than to eat an entire cake. That’s how it works, right? It doesn’t have a mountain of sugar or butter, so I can eat it all myself?

I used this Rustic White Bread recipe, and I’m quite pleased with this little loaf! Paul Hollywood was in the back of my head the whole time–knead well, don’t over-prove, have steam in the oven for a good crust! Using a Dutch oven didn’t hurt, either. When I brought it out of the oven and gave it a good knock on the bottom, there was a lovely hollow sound. Music to my ears!

All in all, not a bad start to the year!

I’ve recently come to the conclusion (yet again) that I need to move on and start anew. The end of the Spring semester may not seem like the most convenient time to do so, but it’s something I have to do right now. All the stress I’m experiencing has finally pushed me to actually do something about it. I need an outlet, and this just seems like the best option.

On a lighter note, I’m really pleased with how my suitemate’s birthday cake turned out last weekend. I think she rather enjoyed it, too, seeing as how it was all gone by the middle of the week.