The Rise and Fall of the Bread (read borderline disaster)

So I decided this morning that I was going to make homemade bread for my family from this point on. It seemed like a really good idea when I was laying in bed still slightly loopy from taking Benadryl before bed last night.

Anyway, I went to my source of all important information . . . google. Now you have to keep in mind I  (1) am not so great at baking (something about not following recipes well) and (2) have never in my life made a bread (or anything for that matter) that requires yeast. Still I've eaten my share of yeast bread, so I figured that makes me somewhat of an expert. Not really, but we'll go with it.

So I found a simple recipe on google, and I went to work. Everything went really smoothly . . . in the beginning. My first rising was good. The dough was big baby. And I was like "I got this bread thang in the bag." Then I moved on to the next stage. The one where you put the bread in the bread pans and let it rise there. And it rose a little bit and then stopped. I tried to give it more time. I kept thinking, "that can't be it". But it was.

So I did the next logical thing. I stuck it in the oven, and then furiously started talking back and forth with my cousin on facebook. She's a farmer's wife. She knows how to bake bread (please see note at the end). So anyway, Bitty  . . . her real name is Amanda . . . my family likes to give their children nicknames that make other people ask "is that your real name?" . . . case and point, my brother goes by Stoney. Okay back to the bread, so Bitty said I either didn't have enough yeast, or the temperature changed enough to affect the rising, or the yeast wasn't very good.

Whatever the problem, the bread was a little on the flat side and slightly more dense than I had intended, but overall, it had a good taste and texture. I will try again. The bread will rise again. But I may still purchase a loaf or ten at the grocery store while I master my bread baking skills. Any advice?

Note: Being a farmer's wife does not automatically ensure that you will be able to bake bread. Nor does being a farmer's wife mean that you should know how to bake bread. My cousin just happens to be a very cool bread bakin' farmer's wife among many other things. Love ya' Bitty.