On Sundays, We Bake

Since November 2020, Toronto has been in lockdown with limited gatherings, closures of restaurants and public places, and even more recently, a stay-at-home order. I've been contemplating different things to do indoors to keep myself out of those “winter blues.” Being at home a lot, I started exploring my pantry and I noticed a bag of all-purpose flour and a bag of cake flour. I don’t remember why I even had it in the first place, as it was just there sitting there unopened. One Sunday, I finally made the decision to finally open up those bags and start a new hobby, baking. Then it dawns on me, why not do this every Sunday?

First project: milk bread. I opened up YouTube and started watching different videos on how to make milk bread. Turns out, milk bread is easy to make when you have a good recipe (see link), and if the video is easy to follow. One thing I found helpful is to measure each ingredient in grams. My first milk bread didn't turn out too well, as I was a bit lost and I wasn’t following the video as closely as I should. The bread still turned out soft and fluffy, however, a mistake in the second proofing really cost me and the bread didn't come out the way I was hoping. From the picture, it looks like a loaf of sourdough bread. I'll be honest, I actually got discouraged trying to make this bread because of the time it took to make and prepare… but I still ate it.

[Milk bread = 1, Tim = 0]

---

February 10th, 2021

It took me a couple of weeks before I attempted to make this bread again, but, unlike last time, this time was a success! I was proud of the outcome, but like most of us, I could still see some room for improvement. I could see myself making a full loaf of milk bread, or maybe even creating braids.

Memorizing the recipe and mastering the technique eased the time of producing this bread, this time around. The next day, I actually used the milk bread as a breakfast sandwich. Best invention ever!

[Milk bread = 1, Tim = 1]

---

February 21st, 2021

On my third attempt at making milk bread, I was able to memorize the recipe and visualize every single step in order to make this bread. Well…except doing the window test to see if gluten has been activated. I was so excited to make this bread as I had just recently bought a convection toaster oven online, but thanks to Covid delays, it won't be arriving until Monday. Going back to my progress, I've mastered how to proof the bread, as I see it constantly rising. I usually have excess dough when I make this bread, so I decided to exercise making bread. Let me tell you, it was an epic fail! After letting the milk bread cool, I sliced some pieces to make French toast for breakfast today, sprinkling both icing sugar and chocolate powder on top. To complete this Sunday breakfast, I added pork sausage, scrambled eggs and bacon. The milk bread turned out great as it was still fluffy (and delicious) even after making French toast out of it.

[Milk bread = 1, Tim = 2]