I have always wanted to learn how to bake bread. My mom is an excellent bread baker but she rarely uses a recipe. A few years ago I asked her to teach me how to bake bread. She came by with all of the ingredients showed me step-by-step her process and the bread was delicious. If I remember correctly I ate it all in less than a week. Since my bread baking lesson I have follow the same directions that she shared with me several times and I have not be able to get a decent loaf of bread. Either the bread doesn't rise, it turns out as hard as a rock, the consistency is just wrong, or some other issue. I've concluded that my mom is holding out the secret ingredient to her fabulous tasting bread (although she won't admit this). But I haven't given up yet, I'm still determined to make a decent loaf of bread. A few months ago my mother-in-law gifted us with a bread machine.
My first loaf of bread! Yay! I used the directions that came with the machine for a loaf of wheat bread. Tastes delicious, I am now on a quest for bread recipes.