this is really is it!!!

i have FINALLY made pandesal!!!

FINALLY!!!!

after 7 failed attempts, i was able to make them not only edible, but truly great tasting.

god is really good!!!!

pandesal attempt number 4

it's good enough to eat right now. i just wonder if it will rock hard by tomorrow morning. we'll see.

i have another formula that i'm eager to try out tomorrow. =)

bread overload

rye, challah, loaf bread, multigrain (batard), wheat (boule)

white pan bread (loaf)


braided egg bread (challah)

rye

baguette (i made 60 of these in 1 week. no kidding!)

job hunting...

not!

i started to type careerbuilder.com when i stopped, bakit ba hindi ako talaga maghanap ng trabaho???

kasi i know that deep down, ang gusto kong gawin is to start my own business. deep down i know that God is laying out his plans for me. if it is God's will for me to go back to merrill, he will do that without much effort on my part -- obedience lang ang kailangan kong gawin. if it is baking, then next week's (very expensive, nilagnat ako sa mahal) baking workshop will wake me up from my baking slumber and get the gears going again for that bakeshop.



God is in control. =)

reminder to self: must borrow 'bakeshop books' from the library.

some success...

my first successful bread! it's not pandesal (dinner roll sya), pero pwede na. totoong tinapay na to! edible na!

it will happen soon

i just know it. i know i will be able to make my own pandesal. i tried again for the 4th time and my dough didn't rise. i didn't bother baking it in the oven, sayang pa ang kuryente. when it failed to rise after i waited for over an hour, i tossed it in the trash. i did not make a mistake, like thomas edison and the light bulb, i discovered 4 unsuccessful ways to make bread. i just hope it wont take me as long as edison to achieve success.

pan de sal part 2

i'm making pan de sal again and with my dad's tips, making the dough tonight for baking first thing in the morning...just like it's done back home.

my dad just told me that his lolo (actually, kapatid ng lolo nya) had a bakery waaaaaaaay back then and he used to work there as a kid so he has a vague recollection of what they did to make the bread. the bakery closed many years ago when the family moved to the states and my dad's other lolo who was the chief panadero passed away not too long ago. SAYANG! i could have asked him for tips, pointers and ingredients. oh well. it's good to know na this baking thing didn't come out of thin air for me. at least i can say the passion for baking is in my genes. =)

rising bread in the evening...

a new adventure...a change in direction

when i was younger...before i really knew anything. i told myself that i want to be a stay at home mom like my own mother. i want to be the one who prepared their meals and brought them to school. i wanted to be home whenever my kids got home from school. soon after i gave birth to michelle, i realized that i didn't want to be a stay at home mom and went back to work after my maternity leave. in january, after working for ML for 5 years, i was part of the merger's staff reduction and was 'forced' to stay home. now that michelle is bigger, i am really enjoying spending time with her and being home has given me more time to experiment in the kitchen for some of the things sold at tselogs. aside from the buko pie, we started selling the cheese rolls (think porto's in so-cal, that's where i got the idea), and just last week i made rocky road pie which we're not selling at the restaurant but can be ordered directly from me. maybe they're not so original, but they sure are tasty!

today, i'm experimenting with the filipino staple, pan de sal. if it is God's will, i want to open my own bakery soon. i'm going to try to learn on my own before i have an expert teach me so that i am familiar with the steps and the ingredients. but i'm excited and i love doing this kind of thing. i don't mind waking up early in the morning to bake which is weird because i used to not like waking up early for anything! i keep praying for the Lord to show me the way, to reveal to me that this is indeed one of the things He has called me to do. i really pray that He will bless the work of my hands and let His glory shine in every tasty treat that i pull from my oven.

first attempt. not bad, but doesn't look like pandesal. (mukhang boling sya) pero masarap naman. would have been great rosemary bread but that's not why i sought to make hehe