New Work Out

Last night I discovered a new work out that was amazing! It worked my arms, abs, and even shoulders...all in 10 minutes! This was not some video or training session. This workout has a catchy name, "Kneading." I looked in the bread box after dinner and saw no bread. The husband had come home for lunch, and I am guessing that is where it went. He worked hard in the yard some yesterday, and I love it when he comes home for lunch. But the bread was gone, and Makenna needed lunch for today at school. For a while I have wanted to bake bread. I think it is economical and so much better for you. But I was scared to death. The lovely flatlands that we call home have pretty much 0% humidity, and somehow my rolls, breads, etc. have never risen here. So at 8pm, which I would later realize is entirely tooooo late to begin this process, I , well, began the process. In the beginning it was going great...mix this in, heat this up, add as needed, stir this in....then it got a little more difficult. Stirring in an extra 5 cups of flour to an already very hard to stir blob of dough was tough. So i only got about 4 cups in and stopped. I believed it was physically impossible to add anymore. The next step is to roll into a ball and let rise for one hour...which is a huge red flag out here that usually turns into 3 hours. So I was off to clean the house...more on that later. After 1 1/2 hours, it had actually risen! Not actually doubled in size, but close. I decided to read the rest of the recipe. The next step was to knead. Cool, I can do that. But what? "Knead for 10 minutes until smooth and elastic." Hmmmm, 10 sounds like a long time to me...AND IT WAS! That was a very long 10 minutes, especially when you are shorter in stature and have to stick your shoulders up just to get ahold of the brick-like blob of dough. It was the best workout ever! Even this morning I can feel my arm muscles...woohooo, heaven knows they needed it. I was pouring sweat and the husband was trying not to laugh at my struggles. They had to rise for another hour in the loaf pans, so I said a prayer of desperation over them and set the timer for another hour. Don't even try to figure out how late it was then. When the timer went off , and I saw picture #2. They rose!!! Then they had to bake for another 45 minutes, but they came out great!!!! So all of you who are scared of bread, go for it! I am going to bake more when we eat all this....and when I can move my arms again.