The Joy of Baking?

I am told that women over 40 should really focus on weight lifting instead of aerobics. I am convinced that baking bread is enough. I was kneading my bread the other day and I set the timer for 10 minutes. I wanted to do this recipe just as indicated. I was kneading way in my kitchen, looking out the window, humming away. Surely I am almost near the end? Nope. 2 minutes 45 seconds in. That was it. I almost died.
So I kept kneading away and finally gave up at the 8 minute mark. That is when I had Athena take over. Pioneer women must have been mighty tough!

My bread looked good. All was going well. We went out for a walk while it was in its final rising stage. When I came home the dough was one inch above the top of the pan, just like the book said. I baked it and it flopped. It came out square, like a sandwich loaf. Oh help! Why can't I make a decent looking loaf of bread. It tasted wonderful but my husband said it was too dense. One would think that having a husband who was a BAKERY MANAGER at Safeway for 10 years I could get a little guidance!

On to cookies. Which I don't really eat but I have a little one and a big one who do. Why are my cookies always as flat as a pancake? Flatter than a pancake actually. Side note: I do make good pancakes. My daughter so lovingly sent me a picture of the cookies she baked today. They were a mile high. Brat.

So today I made loaves. I broke out my Whole Foods Cookbook and tried two new recipes. The one was banana bread with dried cherries and dark chocolate chips. The other two were pumpkin bread.

They look really nice and were easy to do. No Kitchen Aid necessary, just the good old wooden spoon. Again, my hat off to pioneer women! Like I said, these loaves look amazing. They will probably taste horrible. After all, they do have whole wheat flour in them. We'll find out soon. As soon as they are cool enough to cut.

PS If you have any bread baking advice for me or any great recipes, I would LOVE to hear.