I have longed for years to master the art of making bread. Like gardening it has eluded me for quite some time. I have tried numerous times to no avail. It has always seemed to make me so nervous, how to get the yeast to “bloom,” what is luke-warm water anyways, how and for how long to knead the dough, has it really doubled in size??? The questions would send my nerves into a tizzy and that is why I think I just couldn’t do it – or so I thought! I have found a recipe that has given me the courage to try again, and at last SUCCESS!

I followed the direction to a tee, using exact measurements and preciously timing my every move. I watched in amazement as my dough rose perfectly, filling the pans that held it. When the final timer signaled that the bread had completed its baking time, I cautiously opened the oven door and what to my wondering eyes should appear but two loves of perfect bread. Had I really accomplished this feat, had “I” really conquered this thing they call bread making? Indeed I had.

I had to make sure that this was not just a fluke thing, that I could actually do it again. So began the process and timing again, and the end result matched my previous success, and I have to say it was the best bread I have tasted.

I think the reason it was so tasty is because I had finally made bread that both my parents are masters at making. My mother can whip up loaves of bread without a recipe, only by look and feel. She has spent many, many nights trying to teach me. The bread was okay, but nothing like hers. I can vividly remember my father mixing up bread in a huge yellow earthenware bowl that had a blue stripe around it with the biggest wooden spoon I have ever seen. He always made the process look effortless, which it is not, it takes some strength to stir that last cup of flour in and then the kneading process is a whole new set of muscles. The smell would reach us kids all the way out in the fields and it always stopped us in our tracks. We knew what was in store for dinner and we could not wait.

So on this journey I have begun, I can now cross Bread Making off of the list. I am by no means a master, but I can most certainly put a warm loaf of bread on our dinner table. I will share the recipe because it is just too good to keep to myself!

Sixty Minute Bread

2 cups of luke-warm water
4 Tablespoons of sugar
2 Tablespoons yeast
2 Tablespoons oil
2 teaspoons salt
4 1/2 - 51/2 cups flour

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place water, sugar and yeast together in a bowl and let sit for 10 minutes. Stir oil and salt into yeast mixture. Add flour by 1/2 cup full until the dough forms a ball. Turn out on a floured board and knead for 5 minutes. (I actually do this in my stand mixer.) Divide the dough in half and place into greased loaf pans, set aside to rise for 30-40 minutes. Bake for 20-25 minutes, let cool, and then ENJOY!!

I hope everyone who tries this recipe has the same success I have had, because there is nothing like a piece of homemade bread.

I believe I have discovered where I truly reside! Our dreams of hundreds and hundreds of acres, barns and rolling pastures filled with livestock are just that a dream. We would love to someday have all that, but for now we have about three acres and I think that is a good place to start. I call it farm-urbia!

We live in a quiet little town that still has a few large farms and quite a few open fields, but we are not primarily "farm country." I had to change my way of looking at where we are. I was becoming angry because we didn't have enough land, not enough barns and definitely not enough area to put all the animals we wanted; but we do have plenty of all of those things to get started! We have our little flock of chickens, we are getting two little goats, we have a medium size barn, a small barn and plenty of ambition. In our lives right now that is just what we need.

I want to be ready when we get the opportunity to have bigger, but I have reconciled with myself that if we "bit off more than we could chew" we would end up hating everything we had worked towards and and wanted for so long. We are as you would say "Green-horns" at our life’s little venture. I grew up on a beautiful little farm but have spent the bulk of my adult life enjoying the easy or, as I like to call it, lazy way of life.

I am tired of living lazy, I want to be a participant in every single aspect of my existence, and I want my children to see the rewards that can be had from making your own life, not just living along with everyone else. I want to be part of that group of amazing human beings that can tell you how, who and where every item they have comes from. I want to feel proud when I sit down with my family and enjoy a meal that "we" farmed, raised and made with our own two hands and hard work. I believe that we can get our feet off the ground and get our start right here in our little piece of "farm-urbia" for now; at least until bigger and better comes our way!

So, we have the plan for our garden. We know what we want to plant and where. Our raised beds are all ready, we received our dirt delivery, mixed it all with our compost gold and now we need our plants.

I always have such a hard time deciding where to get the best plants, actually that is not so true, I know the best place is from our farmers' markets! I just have to get there and get them. That also is somewhat of a fib seeing how I have just started going to a new market on Saturdays about an hour away from our home to sell our bakery items, so I am already there, I just need to get them!

I think I was waiting until we had our garden beds all ready for those beautiful little plants, I would not know what to do with them if they had to wait to be planted for too long. I don't think I am an awful gardener but I could definitely use a class or two. I would love to feel more confidant in my abilities to actually get big, beautiful, plentiful plants to grow in my garden. I have not had the best of luck in the past two years when it came to getting a decent – okay even any – harvest from our garden.

Every year I am so excited to plant one and see just how much we can grow, I would love to have so much from our garden that I would have enough to give some to all my friends and maybe even have a little stand out front. Unfortunately that bliss has eluded me for years now and there has always been a reason. The willow tree fell smack-dab in the middle of it one year, and last year we had more of a floating garden than anything else! But, like I said, we have a plan!

These new raised beds will be the answer to our gardening dilemmas; we will achieve a garden that friends will envy. Actually we will be happy with a garden that we can be proud of ourselves, and hopefully we will be able to share with our friends, but only after I have canned 'til my hearts delight!

I think, above all else, that is my driving ambition behind wanting this darn garden so bad! I want those rows upon rows of filled glass gems lining my basement shelves, the same shelves that have sat barren for years. I want to taste the garden goodness well into the winter months, when your not supposed have those goodies available to grace your plate.

So, here we go again for another try at our garden, with high hopes for an overflowing garden full of all the veggies we could possibly imagine!