I suppose I could have made something with bread today … carved letters into burnt toast, written a jelly word on a biscuit. But the moment I saw the words “make” and “bread” so close together on page 91 of Noah Scalin’s book, I wanted homemade bread.

More than that, I wanted to enjoy my kids’ sensory response to walking in the front door after school to the smell of fresh bread baking in the oven.

Let’s not go crazy, though. I did have to work today. Time-consuming yeast bread was not an option. So I searched for a quick bread recipe and discovered the simplest possible way to make beer bread. Thank you, Betty Crocker and Bisquick! Four ingredients, five minutes, and the loaf was in the oven.

When the girls walked in from school, they smiled when they noticed the aroma of something baking. I asked them to give me words to describe what they smelled.

Cinnamon rolls?

Cookies?

Pretzels?

All were possible, but not quite right. So I altered the question. How does this smell make you feel?

Warm!

Tingly!

HUNGRY!

At last, I showed them the recipe: “Oh, beer bread! That’s it!”

Before long the timer went off, the bread slid easily from the buttered pan, and we enjoyed thick slices with our dinner. In a word: delicious.