Today my bread rose up into the puffiest plumpest little loaf you ever did see. It’s the third time I’ve made this (easiest softest bread) and it has turned out differently each time.

That’s not to get you — or me! — discouraged. It’s the nature of bread to be dependent on its environment. Humidity, temperature, and atmospheric pressure all have a role to play in the development and growth of a loaf.

Baking is a science and an art, a craft, part learned, part inspiration. Time in the kitchen is time spent immersed in the lesson of life: there is only so much you can control. Some times you win, some times you lose.

We moved to Denver a week ago (hello, high altitude cooking) and my puffy little lunch loaf is sitting on the table reminding me of these things. It’s a bit of a daunting task to think about how I’ll approach baking (let alone blogging) adjusting to this new pressure.

I’ll probably lose a lot before I start winning in the kitchen again. My brownies will be too squidgey, my bread a tad too puffy. But I won’t be discouraged. I’ll try to remember how change, which forces you beyond your comfort zone, pushes you to grow. Failure is an opportunity to learn.

Also, a too-puffy loaf for lunch is still a labor of love, and when it comes to nourishment, will serve just fine.