Yes, folks, haste really does make waste! Yesterday, I realized that my week ahead is going to be quite busy. Therefore, I shifted into high gear. I started by loading my bread machine with the ingredients for basic white bread. I make this bread all the time. It always turns out great, and my Zojirushi rarely fails to crank out a perfect loaf!

Well, yesterday was different. I loaded the machine as usual and turned it on. I then scurried off to the grocery store. Right before I left, the Zojirushi started thumping along as it usually does. The thumping is the surefire sign that the machine is starting to methodically mix the ingredients. I normally double check the ingredients at this point. I open the lid and make sure that the paddles are turning and that the dough is reaching the right consistency—not too dry or too wet. Well, I didn’t do that yesterday!

Gasp! When I looked under the lid at the end of the baking cycle three hours later, I was horrified! It was a complete disaster. A crumbly mix of baked dough that looked more like a New York-style crumb cake than a light and airy loaf of bread! I laughed when I removed the “bread.” My husband even sampled a bit with butter. 

Even though my bread was a bust, I wanted to minimize the waste. So,  I quickly concocted a tomato au gratin. I topped the au gratin with crumbled bread, olive oil, herbs, and parmesan. It looked pretty good when it was baked, but it was still lacking in flavor and texture. No one even touched it at dinner last night! I still have half a “loaf” waiting to be transformed…Any suggestions? Pitch it or prep it into something else?

Photo by Melissa A. Trainer

—Melissa A. Trainer