Death of a bread machine...birth of a loaf....

So after a very long absence....um, approximately the time it takes to gestate, birth and raise two children to the ages of 4 and 5 1/2...I hauled out ye old breadmachine, fancying a return to the homemade loaf. I added my ingredients, as per instructions, turned on ye old breadmachine and...nothing happened. No amount of button-pressing or plug-unplugging would kick the old beast to life. So, what's an aspiring baker to do? Well, I decided to wing it.

I mixed and kneaded...

Then I left it to rest/rise...I remembered my Nanna telling me how HER mother used to leave the loaves to rise next to the hob so I heated the oven to a low temp then popped it in for a few hours...

In the meantime, I looked up how you're *supposed* to do it and discovered several glaring errors in my process thus far...but, I was already committed so....

I stuck it in the oven and hoped for the best.

Ta-da! The glorious loaf. A bit brick-like, a bit stodgy but it smelled really good and tasted quite nice.....

The birds and squirrels enjoyed it too...!! Next time I'll remember to proof my yeast and mix things in the right order. Next time.....approximately the time it takes to raise two small children to the ages of about 17 and 18....