Week 105: Making bread and cookies!

Week 105: December 29th, 2024-January 4th, 2025

Happy 2025! I'm glad to see 2024 come to a close, and am obviously continuing the resolution that has now become tradition for trying Something New Every Week.

I brought in the new year by using my new KitchenAid stand mixer. It was a generous gift from my parents and I love it so much. The color is to die for (pistachio) and it is a great addition to my kitchen arsenal. KitchenAid mixers last forever, so I'm excited for the many years ahead I have with this new gadget.

I've found the best way for me to enjoy cooking and baking is to start with a clean kitchen, empty dishwasher, and to get all the ingredients measured out before starting. Thanks to my extensive culinary knowledge from Epicurious, the Food Network and The Bear, I know this method is called "mise en place." Though this method uses way more dishes and requires some patience and preparation, I think its worth it.

This week, I tried out a couple easy recipes by making this focaccia bread and this salted oatmeal chocolate chip cookie. Both turned out great, but I don't have much baking experience to compare the results to. I just know they tasted pretty good.

The bread was really simple and since I've been slowly adding baking essentials to my pantry and found the recipe on SuperCook, I didn't have to go get anything new from the grocery store. SuperCook is super helpful, and while I am not sponsored in any way, I always suggest this website to anyone who is reluctant to cook. After selecting all the items you currently have in your pantry, SuperCook generates online recipes that you can make without another trip to the store.

I will admit I didn't have fresh thyme, so I substituted chili flakes for a little spicy twist.

The bread dough before proofing!

The garlic and herb oil

There was a lot of mixing, then proofing and waiting, and kneading, then more proofing and waiting, but the bread came together nicely.

Before baking!

Baking!

Gorgeous!

I didn't take as many process photos while baking the cookies. After I let them chill in the fridge overnight, we got to enjoy freshly baked cookies in the morning. I even made enough to give extras to the people in the leasing office.

The cookies were so good!

I'm excited to find more recipes and try new things in the new year. I think I was reluctant to bake for so long because it requires a lot of measuring and specialty ingredients. But now that I have a cute stand mixer and a full pantry, I think I'll lean into the zen mode that some people get when they bake.

See you next week!