Bread

The past few weeks I have really enjoyed making bread. Trying to perfect a recipe I've already tried, or trying a new recipe altogether.  I have loved everything about it:  flour on the counter tops and embedded in the cracks of my hands, the texture of the dough, the time it takes, the wonderful alluring aroma that fills my house, and, of coarse, eating it.  I have made a few loaves of cinnamon raisin bread and two loaves of French bread within the past couple weeks.  I had never made them before this time, and, if I say so myself, they were delicious.

I had an epiphany yesterday as I was writing in my journal as to why I love baking bread as much as I do.  Do you remember President Uchtdorf's Of Things That Matter Most talk that he gave October 2010?  I loved this talk and it was something I was trying to do even before he gave this wonderful address.
But as you know, yeast bread dough needs to rise.  You can't rush it.  (Besides, if you try, it just takes longer.)  It will take as much time as it needs to rise.  And sometimes it needs to rise again after it has risen once.  Yet, if it is baked before it has completed rising it doesn't taste as good or might have the wrong texture than if it had completed rising;  it hasn't lived up to its full potential, if you will.
As it might be with us also.  If we rush through to the end of our lives, not taking the time to do the simple things we need to do, we might not have lived up to our full potential.  Sometimes all we need to do is wait and listen.   I believe that taking the time for the important things in life will help us live up to our full potential.  Taking the time to slow down for the Lord, our families, our work (as long as work doesn't control our lives), church, and wholesome recreational activities will get us far beyond where we could be by racing through.  This talk by Ian S. Ardern from this past conference is also a wonderful one, too.



PS, did you know that if you want a harder crust you put a bowl of water underneath the bread as it's baking?

PS x2, sorry for the lame photograph, it was just from my phone.  I was hoping to take pictures of the process, but I forgot... and I still don't know how to do a regular post in the foodies tab.  Maybe it isn't possible?