Oh bread.....I could write a love song for you....about you....you are SO not good for me, but I kinda like it, and cannot help myself. I remember when I was very young (my Grandma Peggy was still alive and kicking), at dinner every night there was a sleeve of saltine crackers and softened butter alongside the homemade 1,000 Island, and we would all nibble on that until dinner was ready. Then when dinner came out, we would almost always have a plate of simple white bread with softened butter. We loved our veggies, but we also LOVED our carby carbs. When we got our first microwave, us kids darn near ate a whole loaf my ourselves just balling the slices up around butter and jam and nuking them until it was soft and melty. We were in heaven....

I have always admired people who can bake bread from scratch, yet I have always been intimidated by yeast based dough and rolls. It always seemed such a process and so tedious and so easy to screw up that I never attempted it myself.....so I buy them instead. But since I know for a fact that homemade cinnamon rolls, garlic knots and crusty rustic beautiful loaves of herby garlicky bread just taste better, I thought I would give it a try finally.

I bought my flour and little packets of yeast and came home sooooo excited at the possibilities.....I would make my little family some homemade cinnamon rolls to start out. I got a great recipe (thanks, mom!), and though I was nervous about how they would turn out, I gave it a go.....and to my surprise, it wasn't that hard! Every time you make something for the first time, you expect a little variance from the "trained professional" who wrote your recipe....but sometimes they turn out a total fright. But it is also a learning experience.....an opportunity to correct whatever you think went wrong last time, and get it closer to perfection. So. That being said, there are things I will do differently next time I make them, but they were totally tasty just how they were. I'm thinking a caramel pecan glaze next time.....

On Christmas, when we have the kiddos, we always try to have the hubsters parents over for opening gifts and having wine and dinner....my in-laws are an absolutely wonderful couple of human beans. They are loving and fun, so much fun to have close to us, though I do miss my parents as well. This year, we had them over for dinner to celebrate on Christmas Eve.....and since my father in-law and I share a favorite meal (pasta with meat sauce), I though I would do a lasagna with my homemade meat sauce and try my hand at garlic rolls. Again, success! It really wasn't that difficult, and the inlaws were impressed...kids thought it was awesome, I feel like I am finally figuring it out!

And then there's the matter of a really good crusty and herby garlic bread. As you all know by now, I love everything bread, and have long admired those with the skills and patience to craft beautifully crusty, artisan style rustic loaves of deliciousness. Easiest carby delight ever (recipe below) ....I baked it up in my cast iron skillet, which provided it a nice crust on the bottom as well as the top, and it is a no knead dough, so it is really (by bread standards) an easy one to make. You can certainly put whatever herbs you have on hand in to the dough (I used rosemary....and roasted garlic.....amazing!), and it would be super tasty. The only thing better than a warm and fresh from the oven loaf of bread is being able to make it at home!

Nada Knead Bread:

1 package active dry yeast
pinch of sugar (about 1/8 tsp)
2 cups lukewarm water
1/2 Tbsp sea salt
4 1/3 cups AP flour
Olive oil
Herbs of choice, I used rosemary and roasted garlic as my add ins

Combine sugar and warm water in a large bowl (I used my Kitchen-Aid mixer bowl), and add in yeast. Give it a stir and let the yeast bloom a bit. Combine dry ingredients in separate bowl.

*This is where I add my herbs/roasted garlic into the bread dough* Using the dough hook attachment on my Kitchen-Aid (or wooden spoon), I added to the yeast and water mixture 1 cup of dry mixture at a time, until completely incorporated.

Coat the ball of dough with a light coat of olive oil, cover with plastic wrap and a tea towel and allow to rest for 1 hour.

Resist the urge to punch the dough down. RESIST.

Lightly oil a cast iron skillet, and sprinkle a good amount of flour on top of dough. Cover hands in flour as well and shape dough into a disc, as best you can. (Dough will be super sticky!)

Place dough disc in skillet, cover loosely with tea towel and let rest for another 30 minutes, while preheating your oven at 400 degrees.

Drizzle a little more oil onto top of loaf, and add a sprinkle of herbs and sea salt on top.

Bake at 400 for 35-40 minutes, or until the loaf is a deep golden brown.

Slice it up, slather in buttuh and enjoy!!