The Special Ingredient to Baking

My life the last four or five years has been very busy! I have always had a fulltime job or two jobs and have always been a fulltime student. On top of that I juggle spending time with my husband, friends, family, maintaining the ranch and home we own, and more. I love my life and all its busyness, but I am excited for this project because it forces me to do and learn something that I have wanted to for a long time; baking. It seems like a silly thing but it is very important to me for more reasons than one! I do a lot of cooking at home and I love trying new recipes. However, baking is something that does not come so easily to me and I want to change that! I want to be someone that people bring up my homemade cookies, bread, or treats for being the best.

My mom is a phenomenal baker. She is the type of person that does not use any measurements and does it a little bit different every time but it comes out better than the next. She makes fun of me because I use measuring cups. Growing up we always had homemade bread for breakfast, homemade cinnamon rolls for holidays, homemade pizza dough for American Idol night, homemade sugar cookie decorating on Christmas EVE, homemade dinner rolls at Thanksgiving, and more. She has had the same old dough maker since before I can remember and refuses to get or use a new one. She is the reason I want to learn how to be a better baker.

A lot of my childhood memories involve seeing my mom in the kitchen baking something delicious that my whole family and I will sit around together and enjoy. To me, baking makes me think of home, my family, and love! As a wife and future mother, baking is something that I want to do for them. There is something about the smell of fresh and homemade baked goods, especially on a chilly day that makes you feel so happy and satisfied. Baking to me is more than just knowing how to do it well. It is something that makes me feel like a homemaker. Baking is also something that I will and can do for the rest of my life! I am excited and thankful for this opportunity to do something that I am passionate about and enjoy! After this project, hopefully no more store bought baked goods!