I had always been intimidated by recipes involving yeast, but I gave it a try, and the bread was pretty good.
The next time I made it, I tried to be patient. I let the bread rise longer, and it was fluffier.
The next time I made it, followed all the instructions, including brushing the top with butter while it was still warm. It was softer.
Eventually I figured out that if I coated my hands with some butter while forming the loaves, the process was less sticky and the end result looked better.
One time I decided to increase the recipe by 50% so that it made three loaves instead of two. I've never gone back.
Moral of the story: practice makes better.
***
I use this bread to manipulate people into eating healthier stuff. If it's minestrone soup for dinner, I might hear some complaints from the boys about the number of vegetables involved. But when I remind them of my "one bowl/one slice" policy, they will gobble down some minestrone.
Once I was in charge of dinner for a house full of kids and adults. I put together a build-your-own salad bar, and one of the adult men seemed a little disappointed. "So it's, uh, salad for dinner, then...?" But then I set a plate full of warm, sliced Mary Williams French Bread on the table, and what do you know? That man ate salad for dinner.
***
I hadn't made any homemade bread in a while, and I recently dug out the recipe and got to work. Good timing, too, because last Saturday afternoon my big kids informed me that one of them had been asked to provide the bread for our church sacrament service the next morning. Usually this just means bringing a loaf of sliced white bread from the store. I didn't have time for another grocery run though, so I got up early Sunday morning and made some bread. I've made it enough times that it is routine, mundane even. But when you are making the bread that people are about to eat as a representation of Jesus's body, in the ritual used to re-commit to following his example, you can't help but stop and think about it. I paid attention and did my best.
I actually wonder if it's a good idea to use freshly baked bread for the sacrament, since noticing the scent and the taste might be a distraction for some people. The bread is served to the congregation in bite sized pieces, and my own six year old angel child "accidentally" picked up several pieces from the tray instead of just one. Maybe it's best to stick with Wonder Bread.
***
Once a woman at church was talking about doing service for others. She said that when she had been going through a particularly rough time, there was someone who left her a loaf of bread every Monday. She said that she looked forward to it, not just for the bread itself, but for the spiritual and emotional boost it gave her to have tangible proof that someone loved and supported her. I thought that was just beautiful.
***
For several years, I've heard so much talk about avoiding gluten, avoiding carbohydrates, or at least eating whole grains, that I feel almost guilty serving up plain old, nutrient-deficient white bread. But it brings so much joy to my family. My surly teenager came in the door the other day and saw me slicing bread on the counter and said, "Oooh, homemade bread. Thanks, Mom!" He might have even given me a side hug. Straight out of Leave It to Beaver, right?
I have one kid who is such a picky eater that he will often skip dinner rather than eat what is offered. But he is all in on bread, biscuits, rolls, etc. The other night he polished off the last biscuit from his peach cobbler and said, "Mom, you are amazing at making carbs."
After my mom helped me finish making a big quilt recently, I joked that on her tombstone it should read, "She got stuff done." My ability to be productive and get stuff done will never be tombstone-worthy, but "She was amazing at making carbs" sounds pretty good.
***
Oct 2020
Edited to add: How could I publish this post and not include the bread recipe? I just found my original copy of Mary Williams' french bread (scribbled on, because children destroy everything). Go forth and spread carbs all over the world.
