Cinnamon Bread!

Since I'm done with half my classes, I'll admit that I was at loose ends (a little bit) this past weekend. I studied a little bit for my upcoming copyright exams, but they're far enough away that any studying I do now won't be very effective.

So, instead of studying on Sunday, I . . . tried baking bread! Cinnamon bread, that is. And it turned out GREAT! I was so pleased with the results. Now I really have to recomend America's Test Kitchen's The Best Recipe with two big thumbs up. I was always a fan--I haven't made a single recipe from the book that hasn't turned out well, and it has so many useful recipes--but now I'm a major convert. In fact, the bread turned out so well that when I went shopping at Sam's Club later that day, I bought ATK's new The Best Light Recipe! I can't wait to try some of the recipes out of there.

Enabled by my birthday acquisition of an over thermometer and an instant-read thermometer, I was able to follow all the temperature-specific directions for baking bread perfectly (e.g., dissolve the yeast in 100-degree water; bake until 180 degrees internal temperature). The book's instructions are very clear, and I always enjoy reading the notes about how ATK arrived at this specific recipe as the best one.

I plan on making another loaf this weekend when GPG comes to visit so he can try some. Hopefully he'll bring his digital camera so I can get some pictures. In the meantime, if you're interested in a good cookbook (and a good recipe for cinnamon bread), go check out The Best Recipe. It's a great investment.