Alright, so I gotta tell you guys about this “real ingredients” thing I’ve been messing around with. It’s been a journey, let me tell you!
It all started ’cause I was sick of, like, everything being so processed. You look at the back of a package and it’s just a list of chemicals you can’t even pronounce. I thought, “Screw this, I’m gonna try and make stuff from scratch, using actual ingredients.”
First thing I tackled? Bread. Seemed simple enough, right? Wrong. I grabbed some flour (the fancy kind, ’cause why not?), water, yeast, and salt. Mixed it all up, kneaded it ’til my arms felt like they were gonna fall off, and let it rise. It looked okay, I guess. Popped it in the oven, waited… and pulled out a brick. Seriously, this thing could’ve doubled as a weapon. It was dense, hard, and tasted like… well, like sadness.
So, I went back to the drawing board. Watched a bunch of YouTube videos, read a few articles, and realized I was being impatient. Bread needs time, man. More time than I was giving it. Next attempt: I let the dough rise longer, punched it down like I was getting revenge on that first loaf, and baked it. It was better! Still not perfect, but definitely edible. I actually ate a slice with some butter, felt pretty damn proud of myself.
Then I got ambitious. Thought, “Hey, if I can make bread, I can make anything!” So, I decided to try making my own pasta. Got some semolina flour, mixed it with eggs, kneaded it (again, the arm workout is real), and tried to roll it out. That was a disaster. The dough kept tearing, sticking to everything. I ended up with a pile of sad, broken pasta pieces.
Learned another lesson: pasta machines exist for a reason. I caved and bought one. Suddenly, making pasta became, dare I say, fun? I cranked out fettuccine, spaghetti, even tried my hand at ravioli (that was tricky, but the end result was worth it).
The thing I’ve realized is that using “real ingredients” isn’t just about avoiding processed stuff. It’s about the process itself. It’s about learning where your food comes from, about understanding the textures and flavors of individual ingredients. It’s more challenging and rewarding to know where your food comes from.
So yeah, “real ingredients.” It’s messy, it’s time-consuming, and sometimes you end up with a brick for bread. But when it works, when you taste that homemade pasta or that perfectly risen loaf, it’s a pretty awesome feeling. I’m still learning, still experimenting, and still probably making a lot of mistakes. But that’s the point, right?
- Bread: From brick to edible (eventually)
- Pasta: Machine assisted success
- Overall: Messy but rewarding
Next up? Maybe cheese. Wish me luck!
