The bread could be said to have been baked

This blog entry is a little later than planned because the end of quarter VAT returns are without mercy and the excuse of "I had to write a blog entry" just didn't cut it with the accountants, but anyway, taking a small break from the number crunching - Here goes:

I've finally done it. After many weeks of quite frankly not having had any spare time to do it, I have finally baked my first loaf of bread. It didn't go quite according to plan mind you. I don't have a breadmaker so am doing it the old fashioned way.

Everything was going fine until it got to the point of leaving the dough to rise. The recipe called for a damp towel to be placed over the bowl with the dough in it. For some obscure reason I decided that the towel should be soaking. This was a big mistake! Essentially the dough failed to rise. This was despite the fact that it was sitting next to a boiling hot radiator for two hours in what I shall describe simply as the smallest room in the house. I called my mum who said that there really was little more I could do. Undeterred I left it another two hours but again nothing happened. It resolutely refused to rise. However I gamely decided to carry on. I had spent a good 5 hours by this time on this piece of bread and I was not going to give up that easily.

I kneaded it again, rolled it into a rough baguette shape and baked it. When its baking time was up, I gingerly took it out of the oven. It actually looked OK so I was hopeful. The first thing I noticed however was that it was very heavy. It felt like the weight of possibly six loaves, not one. My heart sank and I was desperate to try some. Risking burning my fingers I took a knife to it and cut off the end and tested it. My joy returned when I found that it was still edible. It was, it has to be said, somewhat chewy but tasted quite good. My feeling of pleasure and everything being right with the world returned and I felt as if I had really achieved something - albeit not quite as it should have been, but an edible loaf nonetheless. I'm going to try it again soon, when time allows, with a towel only slightly dampened. Wish me luck.