Well, I think it's kinda fun and fulfilling! It gives me a sense of pride and great satisfaction making something myself for people I love. Bread. It's that simple! Have you ever made anything all by yourself, then stood back and said, "I made that!" and felt proud? Bread does that to me every single time. Oh, and then there's the amazingly wonderful aroma of fresh baked bread-you don't get that with the checkered bag! And, I must not forget, the "yum!" and "wow!" I get from my kiddos! They love when I pull bread fresh out of the oven (and freezer!).
I'm in my sixth month of baking our own sandwich bread for our household. I am happy to report I have only purchased about 5 loaves of bread in the last 6 months. Two of those loaves were because we were out of town, without my mixer, my flour and my bread pans. The others were various reasons-sick, tired, kitchen mini-redo so I opted not to mix building materials with my dough!
So, how does she do it, you must be wondering? Read on for some tips and thoughts.
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| Oatmeal Toasting & Sandwich Bread |
- Find a good recipe, or two. I have found the best place for me to be King Arthur Flour's site: www.KingArthurFlour.com. There are three go to recipes I have found myself rotating through. Here' they are:
- Using a dough hook and stand mixer make this less messy and so, so, so easy. If you have a break maker still in the box from your wedding shower, then by all means, go dust if off and get started now. You have NO excuses!
- Choose a good time of day to start the process. The recipes I use all take 15 miutes or less to get the dough made. It takes another hour or so to let it rise, so if I have some local errands to run that's a great time to start-before the quick running begins. If it's a rainy day and we're home, then any time is good! After the initial rise, it takes another hour or so. Depending on the temperatures in the house it can take more or less time. Then, of course, there is the cook time, usually no longer than 45 minutes. So, in all, you'll need 4 hours. I know this sounds like a ton of time, but most of it is waiting, not actual hands-on time. I've also been known to start bread after dinner, using the wait time duing bath and bedtimes-that makes it super easy. I always stay up later than I should, so at least I am using my time a little more wisely, huh? Well, that's what I tell myself, anyway...
- Make more than one loaf at a time. I have made 2 sandwich loaves at once (often you can just double the recipe, except for the yeast (that stays the same), then separate your dough into 2 pans for the second rise time). My mixer bowl isn't really that big, so I make one loaf after another or bake bread 2 days in a row. Once I have a couple loaves, I freeze them for later so when I am tired, or sick or have my kitchen in shambles, I have no excuse! To freeze, once your loaf is cooled, wrap in plastic wrap then in aluminum foil. Don't forget to write the date and what it is so you aren't playing a guessing game in a couple months!
- You must use BUTTER to grease your pans. Lots of butter, smeared all around, especially the corners. I use a paper towel, folded in quarters and about a tablespoon of butter. I use the paper towel to keep my hands from becoming a hot, greasy mess. I hold the butter in it and smear away. You can imagine this must have been a learning opportunity for me, huh? I was trying to save some calories and used oil and flour early on in my baking. Nope. Wrong. It kept sticking and I would be left with a huge hole in my bread-on the sides, bottoms or all sides and the bottom! I had a little chat with one of the people at King Arthur one day. S/he steered me back on the right course. Those little pop-ups on some web-pages that are there for questions...yeah, this site is awesome! Use it if you have questions. They've answered some of my obviously amateur questions so kindly! I've since come to love butter! it works every single time.
~You are the boss of that dough...~
-Julia Child
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