I love summer because it gives me a chance to feel domestic; our house stays cleaner (well, less messy) and I get a chance to work on my cooking/baking skills. Have I mentioned that Brian makes the majority of our meals?? It's not that I can't cook, it's just that I am one of those people who need to follow a recipe. Who has time to look up recipes and then make a shopping list so that all items are purchased for it?? Brian is one of those people who can look in our pantry and "throw" something together that tastes fabulous. I am SURE my creation would end up in the trash and we would order out.Anyways, here is something even I can make:
Homemade bread sounds labor intensive and somewhat intimidating, but it really isn't and I promise it tastes a MILLION times better than store bought for a fraction of the price. Even better, it is great to share with friends because each batch makes three loaves of bread!Since I knew I would be giving some bread to friends I went ahead and used my picniking skills to make a recipe card to attach to the bread along with a jar of starter so they can make their own too (this would make such a great hostess gift to bring to a party in lieu of wine and such). You should be able to click this image and save it as a jpg, then you can upload to any photo place. I printed 50 copies of 4x6 (true fit: 4 x 5.3) from Walgreens for like $6. 
A friend gave me a loaf of bread and starter a few years back. We had loved it and made it quite a few times. I lost the recipe card, but remembered it was called "friendship bread" and used instant mashed potato flakes. After searching the internet I found the recipe here. It is a little wordy, and in my opinion slightly confusing, which is why I re-wrote parts for the recipe card.
The only thing the recipe card is missing is the starter, which you only make the very first time. I bought mason jars to store the starter in, just be sure to punch a hole in the top of the lid or it will explode from the yeast! (My mom learned this the hard way driving home with a sealed starter. It exploded while she was driving making her think a gun had gone off and leaving her car smelling like beer...)
Starter Directions-
(again, you only make this the very first time or to give as a gift)
•1 cup warm water
•1/2 cup sugar
•1 package (2-1/4 teaspoons) dry yeast
•3 level Tablespoons instant mashed potato flakes
1) Combine ingredients
2) Let ferment on counter for 2 days
3) Start step 1 from recipe card
The only mistake I could see you making in the recipe is to buy the wrong type of flour, so I've included a picture:
Here are the results:
We baked homemade bread (recipe here), printed a card created on picnik, and purchased some nutella spread to go in a dollar store basket.
