When is the last time you baked your own bread?

For me self sufficiency means buying as little as I can and making whatever I can from scratch. Recently, I got into the habit of buying store bought bread. In all honesty, the last loaf of bread that I made was about six months ago, so I decided that I would make a loaf yesterday afternoon because I had the stuff, time on my hands, and I needed bread.

After filling the house with the smell of baking bread, and pulling it from the oven all hot and wanting to be eaten. I thought to myself, "Why haven't I made bread in six months?" Well, slicing it and buttering it were torture to my taste buds and when I finally bit into it, I assured myself that I would never buy a loaf of bread again.

After that loaf was gone, I thought (and am thinking) about making more. It takes at least a couple of hours to make a good loaf of bread and the stores only about 10 minutes away. Sure the bread that you buy at the store tastes like cardboard and costs 4 times what a homemade loaf does, but we get the convenience right?

Why is it even a question which path to choose? In the time I've given to it, I could have started the yeast rising. Why can't I just give up the conveniences of all of the pre-made crap and just make it all myself. I guess I have more to do today than I did yesterday, I don't know.

What I really want to know with this rant is if anyone else struggles with the same issue. Do you give in to convenience when everything in your being tells you to just make whatever it is and quit whining?

I'm going to go make some bread now.

Peace

 

I start my bread dough every morning for that evenings bread .

 

Homemade white bread(makes 2 loaves) 8 cups plain flour, 3 tablespoons sugar,2 packs of yeast,2 cups water, and lard or butter. Combine 2 cups of flour,sugar, and yeast in a large bowl. Add in warm water and beat 2 minutes.Work 1 cup of flour into dough.Then work in 5 more cups of flour, a half a cup at a time,until the dough is soft.Dump the dough onto a floured surface and knead until it has a satiny, elastic texture.Place in a greased bowl and grease top of dough with lard or butter. Cover and let rise in a warm place for about one and a half hours. Dough will double in size.Punch down the dough and divide in half.Place the halves in separate loaf pans and press out any air bubbles.Let rise again(uncovered) until size is doubled, about 45 minutes.Bake at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes. Remove from pans to cool.

 

So nobody thinks...hhmmm, the store? or the oven? I'm the only one that's tempted by the evil and ever expanding threat of commercial bread? I know someone out there say's wtf, it's just one loaf, I'll bake bread tomorrow, today, I'm going to participate in the global economy....someone?

Oh, and thanks for the recipe GC.

 

I absolutely detest store bought white bread. Spongy, flavorless, garbage it is. I love baking bread. There's nothing better than making a sandwich with bread that you baked yourself. But hands down, the best part about baking bread is eating it hot right from the oven with butter.

 

Man I tell you Flows the River ,I stuggle now more than ever,(long story) but yes I don't buy a damn thing that I can do without,And try not to buy anything that can be made,I commend your spirt,thought, and determination!

 

The last time I baked my own bread was yesterday actually. I bake my own more often than not.

For me, I really enjoy baking so I don't struggle with the "should I just buy it" dilemma. I like making my own, it's much more satisfying, I know what exactly is going into it, and my family loves it much more than the store bought!

 

Hey the kid came home last night and said he needed treats for school,so I made chocolate chip cookies ...does that count ...LOL

 

What counts is that you didn't run to the store like everyone else!

~River~

 

We had a bread maker, and when we first got it we baked and baked and baked, but it fizzled out and its been gathering dust for the last 5 years!

 

Man it's been way too long. One of the big drags about living in Florida is I tend to avoid the oven for a large chunk of the year, thing heats the whole house. I know you can probably bake bread in a crock pot though, and blessedly it's Novemeber so it's getting less hot. MMmmmm, bread,yummmmmm

 

When I'm figuring the cost of buying vs making anything, I include my time as part of the cost of doing it myself. To me part of self-sufficiency is effeciency.

For me it's about spending as little as possible. The less you need to spend, the easier it is to be self-sufficient. I reduce my spending in many ways. Mostly by living a very simple life. Also (in no order) by figuring out ways to do without or re-use or buy used or making/building what ever it may be. Even though I buy used industrial uniform pants - 10 pair for $15 !! because pants are pants... if they cover what "they" say needs covering, that's all I need. But on other things I think long term and I don't buy cheap crap. For example, tools - farm/garden or shop or what ever. Pants that do all that's needed for a buck fifty each and a Troy-bilt tiller that cost $2200.

And that's where "convenience" comes in. Sometimes, for me, the convenience of buying something costs less, and sometimes it's the only way. Could I make my own pants? Well, maybe, but not for $1.50 including my time. It's the same reason I don't have chickens nor raise all my own food. In the long run it costs me less (including time) to do more of what works well here, for me, then barter or buy what I need. I can grow half again more (for instance tomatoes, peppers, cooking herbs, blackberries, etc.) with very little more time and effort. From the late 1980s thru the early 1990s I phased out having a full garden and chickens and rabbits, and I felt bad to start with. But in a very short time it really started paying off. I had ( a still have) all I need and a LOT more "free" time.

Now I still do some of the things that I know cost me more, like baking, because I like it and in my own way I feel I've earned the luxury of enjoying myself. One year, many years ago, I decided I wanted to make my own bread, from scratch, the next year. For me that ment growing my own wheat and going from there. It quickly became wheat, rye & buckwheat. It's amazing how little space is needed to grow enough for a family of four. It was a massively interesting and satisfying experience... and tasted great too. But when I figured out how much, including time, the bread cost ... well, I could have eated lobster.

So anyhow, yes, I sometimes give into convenience.

Peace,
poor_old_dad

 

i made pumkin bread last night.

 

We bake regularly in our house but we have to as we live miles from the nearest store. Last baking was yesterday. Ususally when the oven goes on there is a whole batch of things that get put in. Saves energy that way too. Keep baking. Make your own jams, preserves, pickles and chutneys too if you can! Tastes better and you know what's in it!!

 

I have been baking my own bread for years, loaf bread for years when I had a big family, and now more pancakes and quick breads. There is no bread like homemade, but I have found that Ezekiel Sprouted 10 grain bread, is worth paying extra for, and I feel good about it. It is soooooo good.
There are also local bakeries that make organic bread, and I think they can do a good job of giving you convenient wholesome products, so you have more free time, and a good for you bread.

 

About 12 years ago or so. My brother-in-law made beer bread at that time, and I decided to try it. It didn't turn out so good, so I gave up on it.

 

Mmmm... I've got four loaves rising right now - 2 white, 2 wholemeal. I love homemade bread and I love that to be frugal means it's best to make homemade bread!

 

Makin some right now

I do it weekly.

 

does bannock and other non yeast using breads count.

I don't use yeast at all, no particular reason, just don't so I try to make bannock and rolls and other stuff that does not need it. I make bannock to last me about 2-3 days in less that a half hour. I don't eat much bread though. I do buy about a loaf a month though. usually a rye or flax bread though.

mad respect to those that do it daily from scratch and even more respect to those that grow their grains and all the rest. that's the eventual plan for me but is a long ways off, taking the steps though...

 

Where I come from originally bannock is a local bread but it has a lot of fruit in it. Are we talking the same bannock here?