Testing the bread making skills

I decided to bring my old stand mixer from home.  Duane gave this to me 25 years ago when we lived in New Hill and it's still going strong. 

One thing I really, really hate about bread making is the enormous amount of time spent kneading the dough.   Even if the recipe says to knead for 7-8 minutes, you really need to knead (haha) for about 15 for a really smooth bread.  I think this is because I'm using a half/half mixture of standard white flour and the lovely whole grain flour I got in the Bahamas. 

So, I am going to "cheat" and use the dough hooks!  I know it's bulky but I'll find some place to store the machine - I think it will be worth it.

By the way, the 9 month old yeast that I  bought in the Bahamas is still good!  I kept it sealed in the fridge all that time.


Bread turned out great!