The holidays aren’t the same unless I dust off my dough hook and bake up a loaf to go with freshly baked ham. Growing up in Trinidad I think this was, and still is, a staple of almost every household in the days leading up to Christmas. Truth be told I haven’t been as diligent about keeping up with this tradition, but this year seeing that I started a blog with baking in its name I figure I had no excuse.

When I told my husband that we were having ham sandwiches for dinner he seemed skeptical, as though it wasn’t a hearty enough meal, not stick-to-the-ribs-enough ya know! Boy was he wrong. Not only was he full, but he was so happy and satisfied. Home made bread is a different beast from store bought. It’s thick and fluffy and chewy and oh so satisfying. So much so that we finished the loaf in less than 24 hours (eek!) – Holiday calories don’t count right?

What made this loaf even more special was the cheese and the herb, fresh out of the oven to pull a piece away was magic. Seriously my last meal request will have bread and cheese on the menu!

So, you’ve never baked bread? Daunted by the mere mention of yeast? Just stop it! It’s so doable, it’s easy, and if you have a stand mixer, that dough hook does all the heavy lifting kneading for you.

Here are my bread baking tips:
1. If the yeast doesn’t froth up, it’s dead, try a new pack
2. If your dough doesn’t rise on your first proof (that’s when you put it to rest while covered in nice warm spot), then your yeast is dead, try a new pack and start over.
3. This was the first time I used my herb stripper, I’m really glad I had this kitchen gadget handy.

Easy peasy, now let’s get to it!