Right now my biggest problem is Karen doesn't want me to cook it as dark as it should be.
I noticed the contrasting dark patches right away. It looks wonderful. Even if you can't eat it all, you can cut a slice when it's still warm and slather it with butter, and then quickly have another. I imagine if it's darker, it has harder crust. I can kind of understand Karen's preference, but I'll take it either way. My grandmother used to bake bread. There was one special kind she made that I liked the most, and I haven't seen it since. I think it was something she concocted on her own. It had the flatness of a deep dish pizza crust, but it was a rye bread. I would cut out a section and then split the flat piece between the top and the bottom crusts, so it was like having two heals. Fresh hot bread is a special treat.
When my wife and I moored our boat at some remote seaside resort, the couple that ran the place alerted us that hot bread came out of the oven at 4:00 PM that day. We got there early and bought a loaf just as it came out of oven. We had a batch of fresh caught crab cooking up on the boat and made crab salad sandwiches. Gorged ourselves, but kind of over did it. I kind of wish I hadn't eaten so much, but what are you gonna do with that much hot bread?
