This is it! I am quitting bread making – officially! And this time I mean it, not like the past hundred times when I quit and the yeast beckoned me back.
I have tried and tried and tried, but every single time I bake bread, I break my teeth.
I follow the steps meticulously. Yeast is given as much of care as to a new born. Once the yeast bubbles up, I knead the dough, I let it rise and all this happens as it should. But once I bake them, the result is always the same. Rock hard buns (or bread). Sigh…
If you are smiling at this abysmal failure of mine, be warned. I have a weapon with me – yes, these can double up as great self defense products. One throw with this bread and it might do you some serious injury!!
Sara and Erica of Baking JDs were our March 2012 Daring Baker hostesses! Sara & Erica challenged us to make Dutch Crunch bread, a delicious sandwich bread with a unique, crunchy topping. Sara and Erica also challenged us to create a one of a kind sandwich with our bread!
I really wish I could have completed the challenge the way it was meant to be! Soft, white rolls with beautiful tiger/giraffe patterns. Hell, I would have settled even for a pattern of a hare! But this is what I got and after thinking over whether I should post this or not, I decided to go ahead and let the world know about ‘How NOT to make (Tiger) Bread’.
Check out the Daring Kitchen for real tiger, giraffe and even a cute turtle shell pattern.
Linked to:
My Kitchen Trials 
Don’t give up, like Ghajini Muhammad. You might get lucky. He He.
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Haha:-) But you know what, they don’t look bad at all. Something must have gone wrong small. Cheer up.
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Oh no! I’ve made a few rock hard loaves myself, but somehow I kept trying again… You just have to find the right recipe! You still got the tiger effect, anyway!
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Great post, I love how honest and funny you are about it all!
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That was a very nice post.. god! u always crack me up..the point is they crack.. they’d dint get the patches but they def did crack :)..even as turtles still all a part of the animal kingdom ;).. Its super cool, that you posted this.. many a times we mess up but avoid posting that..but an attempt is what really counts! way to go ranjani :)
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oh no! i feel for you. totally sucks when things don’t work out as you wish, especially in the kitchen! good for you for posting anyway! i’m sure the next challenge will be right up your alley.
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They don’t look that bad to me – but your description is hilarious. Don’t give up – we all have bad bread days.
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Great spirit there!
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Sorry to hear that this didn’t work out for you! Yeast is tricky, but it’s all in the name of a challenge, right? Your crackle is beautiful though, so at least when you’re lobbing them at your attacker, they’ll be distracted by the neat pattern. :-). Thanks for joining us this month!!
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So sorry to hear you are giving up making bread… if the yeast and dough are being treated like a newly born, then you could check your oven, maybe the temperature isn’t high enough, usually when bread is baked for too long it can get rock hard. One way or the other, your topping still looks very crunchy!
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Don’t give up…it will all click in one day! Kudos for posting the results even though you weren’t pleased (I bet they were actually ok though!)
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hahahh..that was really hilarious Rajani…loved the post..it’s ok if you didn’t get that right..I loved reading this..hahahh…oops can’t control my laughter..will be back to give you all the moral support you want! I promise..:)
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LOL – they never look as bad as you think! And hey, was the topping crunchy? Looks like success! This is why I’m afraid of bread – there are so many seemingly indeterminate things that affect the final product that I wouldn’t even know how to learn to avoid my own mistakes. Everything just gets blamed on the bread gods!
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LOL at the account of the missing tiger, Rajani.
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Oh rajani, me too yeastophobic, i haven’t dared to bake this bread yet!!!! Got to try this weekend, atleast will have my hubby to blame!!!! Its ok dear, there is always a next time, hopefully we will succeed with yeast one-day!!!!
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Rajani, dond’t be sad. Mine were actually very similar to yours… and they were delicious anyway.
You’ll see… one of these days you will make a bread that will rock ;)
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O Rajani come on they do not look so bad. You got a lovey pattern on them. I am sorry i have no suggestions to give you abt baking but maybe my shoulder for you to cry on. Cheer up dear.
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I’m starting to follow you btw, I love your blog!!!
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When baking bread I’ve always found that doing a big loaf usually has a better result than small ones, so don’t quit!!! You can do it, you just have to find a good recipe!!!!
Have you ever tried this one? http://www.bakinginspain.blogspot.com.es/2012/03/twdbwj-irish-soda-bread.html Irish soda bread is easy and it doesn’t even need to rest!!!
Or this one? http://www.bakinginspain.blogspot.com.es/2012/02/twd-first-recipe-white-loaves.html Not as easy as the other one but really good!!!
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I dont know about the tiger or turtle but am sure the bread must have been delicious to eat. or was it not..I am also yeastophobic, but the more i try , the more interested I become in baking with yeast…2 thumbs up(coz thats how many I have) for your spirit of trying
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Are you sure they’re hard as rocks? They don’t look too bad. The colour is great and the crackle is pretty good, though I have to say I made the given white bread roll recipe and it was rather dense but my family liked it, that’s all that matters. Don’t give up – yeast is fun! Thanks for your kind comment!
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Oh my god Rajani….you are hilarious. I was sitting alone in a room late at night and laughing so loudly reading your post that my husband was afraid that I might wake up the kids. I just love your honest post and your spirit. Bread making isn’t that hard, I’ve had my share of failures in many of the things I try. May be the yeast is expired. Try purchasing fresh ones (rapid rise) and bake it the same day and the temperature at which you activate them is also the key. One more tip, don’t add salt and sugar together when you are activating the yeast. Salt can be added later to the dough after you activate the yeast and mix with the dough and let it rest with the dough. Check if this helps. Sorry for the long reply.
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LOL LOve your spirit. Don’t worry m sure these will taste great as toasts :)
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you are so funny…a few things I am not sure where you are located, but if you are where it is not so warm, bread needs to rise for longer period of time. Also, if water is either too warm or too cold, it may not activate as it should – do you use a thermometer to measure water temperature…just a few suggestions :)
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hahah..Mireille..(sorry Rajani, I am stealing your space)..we are surely in a warm warm, rather in an oven actually!!!…hahahh…thanks for the suggestions..
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