They loved my bread!

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My in-laws have designated me as the K family roll maker now! It's always nice when people really like your cooking.
By-hand loaf (left) vs. machine loaf (right). I'm excited to be getting rid of my bread machine!
My new-ish hobby is bread making and it's been going pretty well. For years I used a bread machine but right after we got married I got the itch to try it from scratch. I "inherited" my grandma's Kitchenaid mixer so it does all the hard work of mixing and kneading and does a really good job.

Kevin and I like whole wheat bread so that's what I started experimenting with, 100% whole wheat. It sort of stemmed from the fact that I'd like to get more whole grains into my diet, but in an easy, non-complicated, and yummy way. And since I'm never sure if the wheat bread I buy at the store is truly 100% whole wheat I thought I would make my own so I could control what exactly goes into it.
My first try at bread by hand. This is a half-whole wheat, half white flour loaf.
I've never made a terrible loaf but I'm getting better at getting a nicer texture. I still haven't made a good sandwich loaf that holds up as firmly as store bought but it does hold up decently enough and tastes delicious. I also make it into muffins to eat for breakfast while driving to work and Kevin puts them in his lunch for work. (I'd really like to figure out the cost, too...)
My mother-in-law asked me to bring rolls for this Sunday's family dinner (probably thinking I'd just buy them at the store...). So I thought I'd try my hand at white rolls because I remembered how fast the white rolls went at Thanksgiving. (I think my father-in-law made those.) In my bread making research a few months ago I discovered the website for King Arthur Flour that has some awesome looking recipes and good descriptions. Their flour is too expensive so I won't buy it, but I will make their recipes! They're full of tips and then people ask questions and get answers in the comments section which is super helpful.
Parker House Roll
I ended up making Parker House Rolls and they were DEE-Licious! Totally full of butter and white flour, but hey, it was a birthday dinner so it didn't have to be 100% healthy, right? And as soon as my in-laws tasted them they said, "Ok, Amanda, you're now designated as the roll-maker in the family." Total triumph. They even liked my funky looking (but still yummy) wheat rolls.
Here's the link to the recipe for the Parker House Rolls. The instructions sound confusing, but once you're actually making them it makes sense. Next I think I'm going to make the Herb and Onion rolls (if I can figure out how to make the cloverleaf roll shape...) and possibly the Naan. If I could find a good recipe for sweet Naan, Kevin and I would be in heaven. It's one of our favorite Indian foods.
Herb and Onion cloverleaf roll
On a side note, because we live in the Great American Desert, I have to add anywhere from 5-8 tablespoons of extra water to each recipe. This is where I'm really learning how to judge the right dough texture because it's different with each day's changing humidity (or rather, non-humidity here in Utah...)