Bread, baby. Bread.

2

Replies

  • UsedToBeHusky
    UsedToBeHusky Posts: 15,228 Member
    Baking bread is a labor of love. You do it because you love to.

    Personally, I think the health benefits are negligible. If that is your only reason for doing it, then you won't be doing it long.
  • Bakkasan
    Bakkasan Posts: 1,027 Member
    I make my own all the time. Its super easy and tastes great. For 1 day. Then it's good to make croutons or french toast.
  • LiveTheLifeYouWillLove
    LiveTheLifeYouWillLove Posts: 98 Member
    Learning breadmaking can be kinda hard at first but don't give up! Once you figure it out, its worth it!!!!! If you like to prep ahead, you can make multiple loaves and freeze some so you don't run out.

    Also, if you decide not to make your own, I'm sure someone locally makes it, check your farmer's markets and co-ops:)
  • Ramberta
    Ramberta Posts: 1,312 Member
    I've used a breadmaker and the oven, and I'll tell you-- the machines cause more trouble than they're worth sometimes. They're EXTREMELY difficult to clean well, the settings can be awkward to figure out, and I've never had a loaf turn out perfectly using one. However, just using a loaf pan in the oven yielded wonderful results. :) Bread is easy peasy to make, you don't need a fancy machine! Just time, exact measuring, and patience.
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
    http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/dining/081mrex.html?_r=0

    ^ may be toxic depending on your misunderstanding of what toxic actually means
  • savithny
    savithny Posts: 1,200 Member
    I think there is a reason why every town had a baker before widespread industrialization of food. Making good bread at home is time-consuming and hard to do well.

    I am lucky in that I have access to several great bakeries that make tasty wholesome breads.

    It was actually more of an issue of it being more efficient to run one centralized specialized oven. A good bread oven is fairly big and takes a lot of fuel, and its wasteful to just do bread for one family for a day or two in it. Some countries tended to not have a central baker, but to have the central oven, and every family prepared their own dough and brought it to bake, so the "baker" only handled the oven part of the process rather than doing all the kneading and rising.
  • CrazyTrackLady
    CrazyTrackLady Posts: 1,337 Member
    I love the smell of freshly baked bread. However, I don't it eat because I'm gluten free for health reasons.

    You all are making me drool!
  • KANGOOJUMPS
    KANGOOJUMPS Posts: 6,474 Member
    add cheese and booze, and i am in.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    I have some sour dough starter in my fridge that I got from a buddy of mine...think I'm going to give it a whirl this weekend...but really, with having to feed the starter regularly, etc...and then about 48 hrs advance notice (feed starter 24 hrs before you need it + put your dough together and let is sit for 24 hrs before you actually bake) it really seems like a royal pain in the *kitten* for something I don't eat on a regular basis.
  • pandorakick
    pandorakick Posts: 901 Member
    Baking bread is a labor of love. You do it because you love to.

    Personally, I think the health benefits are negligible. If that is your only reason for doing it, then you won't be doing it long.
    ^^^^ Yup!
  • AmyJMadison
    AmyJMadison Posts: 143 Member
    I bake most all the bread, rolls and buns used at our house. I love it, and once you get your own style and recipe down pat you can whip it up in no time. I just had to cut back when I wanted to drop the weight. But I'll always choose homemade over store bought which runs $4 a loaf for the good stuff. YIKES who can afford it.
  • savithny
    savithny Posts: 1,200 Member
    I have some sour dough starter in my fridge that I got from a buddy of mine...think I'm going to give it a whirl this weekend...but really, with having to feed the starter regularly, etc...and then about 48 hrs advance notice (feed starter 24 hrs before you need it + put your dough together and let is sit for 24 hrs before you actually bake) it really seems like a royal pain in the *kitten* for something I don't eat on a regular basis.

    We've kept our starter going for 3 years now. It's not nearly as fussy as some people would have you believe. We pull it out in the morning on baking day, feed it, and then bake in the evening. Even only baking once a week (make a double batch and freeze), the starter hasn't died or gone overly sour.
  • ZHawk1123
    ZHawk1123 Posts: 215
    Not eating bread at all is worth it, I can tell you that.
  • WillLift4Tats
    WillLift4Tats Posts: 1,699 Member
    Here's a bread recipe I'm gonna try out this weekend. No breadmaker necessary :)

    http://www.simplysogood.com/2010/03/crusty-bread.html
  • WillLift4Tats
    WillLift4Tats Posts: 1,699 Member
    Not eating bread at all is worth it, I can tell you that.

    Pfffffft.
  • swiftjen77
    swiftjen77 Posts: 17
    Ezekiel Bread, Best bread for you...

    ezekiel.jpg


    THIS!!!!! ^^

    Can't live without it. Lots of protein & filling. Great stuff!
  • Katt1320
    Katt1320 Posts: 94 Member
    Not that anyone will see this, being all buried, but I just wanted to apologize for using "toxic". Obviously grocery bread is not laced with poison, I certainly did not mean to imply that buying said breads would kill you. I was using the term hyperbolically in reference to the chemical preservatives, added sugars and salts that are often added to mass-produced breads. My mistake.

    Thanks you guys for your posts, this is some VERY freaking awesome information and advice and I'm so glad I asked.

    I'm making my first loaf this weekend without a bread machine and I'm excited to see how it goes!

    Thanks again!
  • JellyButter
    JellyButter Posts: 160 Member
    My aunt makes homemade bread & it taste like a piece of heaven. Not sure how she does it, but I always sneak a loaf or two from her house when I'm there.
  • meghan6867
    meghan6867 Posts: 388 Member
    I make my own bread frequently for a couple of reasons,

    a) The packaged stuff tends to be awfully high in sodium (used as a preservative)
    b) I have naturally high blood pressure and need to monitor my sodium intake
    and c) it generally tastes better.

    That being said, I used a bread maker for years until it finally needed to be retired after a small kitchen fire. :blushing: Now I use a Kitchenaid mixer (which is amazing btw). There are plenty of receipes out there that you can use that are just amazing!

    These aren't incredibly healthy for you, but Panera doesn't have anything on these bagels: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/bread-machine-bagels/detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Title&e11=bagels&e8=Quick Search&event10=1&e13=A:Search Results-List(control)&e7=Recipe.
  • MsLilly200
    MsLilly200 Posts: 192 Member
    I made my own bread once... Then my mom put it in a plastic bag "so it wouldn't become dry" and it was mouldy the next day. Which was a shame, it was pretty tasty bread.
  • socajam
    socajam Posts: 2,530 Member
    I am with you on this. The other day I was in Wholefoods looking for a decent bread without the following ingredidents: canola oil, soyabean oil, rapseed oil and any other ingredients I cannot pronounce. I ended up buying German bread without the above poisons. I came to the decision the only way for me to eat healthy bread is to make my own.

    I will be trying this out some time next week
  • fredf2112
    fredf2112 Posts: 110 Member
    Thank you everyone for the wonderful posts and ideas. Although I don't currently eat a lot of bread, many of your ideas have intrigued me to the point I will make some bread this weekend.
  • RM10003
    RM10003 Posts: 316 Member
    Another vote for no-knead bread. It's a little difficult figuring out how sticky the dough should be at first, but this stuff is so good. The hardest part about it is remembering to set up the dough the night before (it needs to sit out for 18 hours). I add in stuff like rosemary. If you want to try doing a whole wheat or rye version of this, I recommend going no higher than a cup of whole wheat or rye flour, and upping the yeast to a half a teaspoon.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/dining/08mini.html
  • kerriberry74
    kerriberry74 Posts: 62 Member
    Baking your own bread is definitely worth it. It can take a bit of trial and error before you get it correct/to your liking, but once you know what you're doing it's not all that bad. I'm making use of the stand mixer I got from my parents... takes a lot of the work out of the kneading process (I have very limited space and while it's kneading I can get other things done). I'm trying to get away from the more processed stuff. I tried out pretzels a few weeks ago & am working on finding a good recipe for naan bread.

    As a side note, the last time I bought the cheap white bread was maybe 6-7 months ago (I had a coupon for it)... It is still kicking around the kitchen and still looks like I just brought it home. YIKES! I now have to see just how long it will take for it to get moldy.
  • Rumplecreek
    Rumplecreek Posts: 3 Member
    The Pita bread is very good too!
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
    I made my own bread once... Then my mom put it in a plastic bag "so it wouldn't become dry" and it was mouldy the next day. Which was a shame, it was pretty tasty bread.
    Did she put it in the bag while it was still warm? That might have been the problem. I usually let mine cool then bag it up, and it doesn't get mouldy within the 2-3 days that it lasts. I hope you weren't put off ever making any again!
  • bumblebums
    bumblebums Posts: 2,181 Member
    I am with you on this. The other day I was in Wholefoods looking for a decent bread without the following ingredidents: canola oil, soyabean oil, rapseed oil and any other ingredients I cannot pronounce. I ended up buying German bread without the above poisons. I came to the decision the only way for me to eat healthy bread is to make my own.

    I will be trying this out some time next week

    I used to work at Whole Foods, at the bakery. They definitely have bread without "rapseed oil" and other things you describe as poisons, and their staff are well trained and knowledgeable about the bread they sell. Next time you are at Whole Foods, just ask someone for help.
  • arrawyn79
    arrawyn79 Posts: 275 Member
    I LOVE bread! and since getting healthier i've moved away from all white breads (at all possible - except if you get something in a restaurant with a meal) and eat either whole wheat or whole grains and I LOVE breads with lots of seeds, nuts and fruit (apricots, raisins, dates, you name it!. i'd love to make my own bread. My parents have a bread maker (i don't live at home anymore) and my dad used to make bread once in awhile, but I don't think they've used it for years. I should really try and make my own bread (without a machine). so this thread has got me excited! :) now i need to find a website with easy healthy bread recipes!
  • Katt1320
    Katt1320 Posts: 94 Member
    Today I went to the website The Fresh Loaf and made the Lesson 1: Your First Loaf bread. It turned out great! The waiting is a pain, but it's easier than I thought it would be. It is so yummy! Next weekend I'm thinking of doing Lesson 2!
  • mazdauk
    mazdauk Posts: 1,380 Member
    Lakeland do special bags with perforations so you can put your bread in warm but it won't go soggy or mouldy:smile:

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