#this is the hardest thing i've ever done. and

[copperbadge]

Hey Sam!

I recently purchased a second hand bread machine, and I know you like to bake! (I got King Authur's Flour per your recommendation.) I was wondering if you have any recipes or tips and tricks for bread making? I don't have an oven in my apartment so sadly that's not an option for me 😔

Without an oven, a bread machine is a great acquisition! You can often also make rice, oatmeal, and sometimes even yogurt in a bread machine, depending on the model. If the machine didn't come with a manual, try googling for it, or googling the model name and "recipes" to see what else people have done with theirs. It's great you bought KA flour, because materials really do make the difference -- good flour and yeast are key. Freshness can matter with yeast so buy something with a long expiration date, and keep the yeast somewhere cool, dry, and dark.

For bread making, there are two main things I always think about: you are nurturing yeast, which is a living thing, and you're forming gluten (presumably, if you're not cooking gluten-free). The yeast wants to have food and be warm, so you want to use pretty warm water (most machine recipes say something very specific like 115-125F or similar, but it should be warmer than your skin and not so hot it hurts your skin, that's how I measure it). Sugar helps feed yeast, so often there will be sugar or honey in a recipe even if it's not a "sweet" bread. If you're using older yeast, adding a bit more sugar can help it work. Meanwhile, protein helps support gluten formation, so milk or milk powder are common ingredients often listed as optional but which are very helpful. If you have a stove, you can even make milk bread, which is one of the best, fluffiest kinds -- google "hokkaido milk bread" for recipes. Nearly any bread recipe that doesn't have a super long rise or need to be shaped can be made in a bread machine, but often (especially on the King Arthur site) a recipe will include special tips for adjusting it for a machine.

Specifically for bread machines, the bread can stay warm in the pan for a bit, but the longer it cools in the pan the more likely it is to form condensation, which leads to moisture on the surface of the crust in contact with the metal. That dries out pretty quickly if you leave it out for a bit, but moisture reduces the shelf life of homemade bread a LOT (moisture feeds mold). Your best bet is to remove the bread as soon as it's cool enough to handle -- it used to be the hardest part of making machine bread was getting it out of the damn pan, but they may have gotten better since I had one -- and wrap it in a tea towel or leave it out to cool completely before putting it in a package of some kind. I used to keep mine in the fridge because without preservatives it can mold quickly. These days most breads I bake included a few spoonfuls of King Arthur Bread and Cake Enhancer, which is a mild preservative and worth every penny -- it makes the bread softer, with better crumb, and it stays good for longer. There are other brands you can get cheaper on amazon, probably, but I've only ever used KA so I can't speak to their efficacy. It's generally not sold in stores.

Okay, two last things: one, I always put the bread machine on the floor when I was making bread in it, because it rocks back and forth a bit when kneading and I have had machines "walk" off the counter before. The floor or a wide table are best. Two, bread is difficult and even a machine for making it isn't perfect, so you may fail when you first start out. Even if you don't fail the first time, you may not get a good loaf at some point, and that's the nature of yeasted breads. Don't take it personally -- and don't give up! After a while, you start to notice if something seems "off" but it takes time to learn that sense.

Happy baking! I hope it goes well for you.

[charlotte-zophie]

With one step, Thorin closed the distance between them and gently placed his right hand on Bilbo's cheek, letting out a soft sigh of relief as he finally felt the hobbit's soft skin under his fingers.

Bilbo looked at him with wide eyes.

"Thorin? What are you doing? Why...? I mean... I thought you couldn't feel anything for me and that's why you left?"

A tear made its way from the corner of Bilbo's eye to Thorin's fingers.

Thorin tenderly wiped it away and leant forward, whispering in Bilbo's ear in a low, slightly raspy voice, " You mean everything to me Amrâlimê. And turning my back on you was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. And i regret every single second that i wasn't near you. Even if i don't deserve it, I hope that you will give me the chance to prove myself worthy of you and that one day you can forgive me for my unspeakable behavior." He let out a deep shuddering sigh, "I thought it would be safest for you if I disappeared from your life. But now i know it was the worst decision I've ever made in my life! Please, forgive me."

With a sob, Bilbo pressed himself violently angainst Thorin and wrapped his arms around his neck while burying his hands in Thorin's thick black hair.

"You incorrigible, terribly thickheaded, stubborn, loveable stonehead!" Bilbo sobbed into the crook of Thorin's neck, "Of course I forgive you my heart! For if I did not, I would die!"

An incredulous an infinitely relieved smile split Thorin's face and he wrapped his strong arms around his hobbit's waist as he took a few steps back until his legs hit a rock, on which he sat down and pulled Bilbo onto his lap.

He looked at him with watery eyes and a beaming smile and marvelled at this incredible creature with the infinitely wide heart that he loved more than anything else in this world.

"I love you." he breathed and Bilbo's eyes shone as he approached his face ever so slowly and whispered delicately on his lips, " And I love you for as long as I live."

And whit that, he closed the last barely noticeable distance between them and finally, after what felt like eons, their lips joined in a sparking kiss that made everything around them go blissfully unaware and they realised for the first time in both their lives that they were whole.

[nomazee]

what ppl don't tell you about writing is that it's half having zero ideas whatsoever and not knowing what to write & half having too many ideas and not knowing which ones to pick

[inkskinned]

actually sometimes being neurodivergent is great bc you have a particular kind of Silly Mode that just . manifests glory. harmless fun is my precious side quest & i have a high score in whimsy. like okay if i gotta be the first dork in the dance pit it's gonna be me and this random toddler and we're gonna avril-style rock ouuuuttt

[formosusiniquis]

caught flour handed

For the @steddiemicrofic challenge Prompt: cake | WC: 311 | G | no CW A Dustin POV steddie discovery, everyone's fave

Steve has been up to something for weeks. Dustin knows the only way to find out what he’s been up to: sneak in and go through his shit. He’s calling it sneaking too, because if he knows where the key is he doesn’t think it can be called breaking and entering.

He twists the front knob slowly so it doesn’t click in the latch, even mostly deaf Steve always knows when someone’s at the door. Eddie would say crouching before he’s even through the doorway is a dead giveaway that something’s up. But what does he know?

“There are more helpful places your hands could be.” Dustin freezes in place; his hand still on the front door.

“There are less helpful places my hands could be.” That’s Eddie’s voice responding, but his van hadn’t been in the driveway.

“You’re the one that said you wanted cake.” He’s too far from the kitchen to tell, but Dustin would bet Steve has his hands on his hips.

“What if I said I actually wanted beefcake.” 

Steve can be a bit of a ditz sometimes, but Dustin can’t imagine him getting cake and that confused. What would beefcake even be, meatloaf?

“I would say you should have said something before we got up.”

“I would’ve but y’know how you get when your mind’s made up, Sweetheart.”

“No, I don’t actually. Want to share, Edmund?”

“Only that delicious cake you’re making.” Dustin can hear Eddie’s feet moving on Steve’s tile flooring. He’s creeping up on the doorway now, but has to assume based on the giggling that Eddie was moving out of smacking range.

Moving even closer, Dustin can see Steve facing the oven. Two perfect, white handprints on the ass of his jeans. “Your child is lurking,” Steve says, “do you wanna tell him what you’ve been doing to his babysitter, or should I?”

[bisexualbuck]

After 356 years and seven lifetimes… I still lead with my heart.

[Description under Read More]

[Image description: three gifs from Star Trek Deep Space Nine focusing on Jadzia Dax

Gif 1: Close-up of Jadzia in a TOS uniform, the background is red. Jadzia Dax is written at the bottom in a stylized manner

Gif 2: Various gifs of Jadzia. On the left there's a gif of her in her red wedding dress. On the right, there are two small gifs of her, in the first one she looks upset, but she is laughing in the second one. Below is a close-up of her blue eyes. The last gif is at the bottom and shows her sitting on the Captain's chair of the Defiant during combat.

Gif 3: two merged gifs of Jadzia. On the left, she is standing and smiling. On the right, she has her gaze down but looks up as she listens to what's being said to her. At the bottom of the gif, the following quote is written in a stylized manner: "If you want to know who you are, it's important to know who you've been"

/end image description]

[nell0-0]

Would 10/10 have time to draw and write if I just stopped assembling(?) furniture and moving heavy stuff around. Would not recommend either, there's an option to pay for people to do it for you. Which sounds super nice. Then again, I'm broke (spent all the money on the furniture pieces), so there I go again.

[schumigrace]

sebastian vettel | 1st place | china 2009 | podium no.2

[dnpsuck]

📱📱📱

[themarsbar]

Pick 3 your favourite gifs from each season 💜

Season 1

Season 2

Season 3

[me-sploh-rada-imas]

bojan in vilnius [x]

[apollos-olives]

not only do i suck balls at the dabke but it makes me 2000x more disabled

[ashleyslorens]

OH, MARY! Lucille Lortel Theatre, 2024

[userparamore]

before & after coloring/sharpening challenge

i was tagged by @miwtual, thank you kai 💜

i know this was only coloring but i removed the sharpening too bc i think the sharpening is just as important as the coloring <3

no pressure tags: @iero, @perotovar, @thepunkpanther, @pedrorascal, @daenerys-stormborn, @arabellas, @pedgito, @userdanewhitman, @useremo, @djo, @elena-gilbert, @paramores

[heartshapedhackjob]

I am three weeks sober

[bluebird-poetry96]

Psych ward thoughts

Seeing the trees dance in the wind,

Helps me want to stay alive.

-Raven Blue Bell