Bread, baby. Bread.

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  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    If I made my own bread I'd probably eat the whole loaf in one sitting. So, I avoid, lol!
  • kenzietate
    kenzietate Posts: 399 Member
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    My mom makes her own bread completely from scratch. Even grinds the wheat, flax and whatever else she puts in it. She used to have really bad Rosacea and other health issues related to that. Since she started making her own bread her flair ups are non-existent! She feels so much better and now no one in my family eats store bought bread unless mom didn't have time to make it. Everyone prefers her bread! I definitely think it is worth making your own. It really isn't that hard. I used to make it by hand without even a bread maker all the time. It takes some prep work but other than mixing and kneading, it is really just waiting!
  • Loulady
    Loulady Posts: 511 Member
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    I bake my own bread.

    I really enjoy cooking and baking is a bit of a hobby, and making good bread is still enough of a pain in the butt that I only do it once or twice a month at most.
  • hookilau
    hookilau Posts: 3,134 Member
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    So you know it and I know it. Once you even break the surface of basic awareness you realize pretty quicklike that the best way to have non-toxic, natural foods is just "Screw this. I'm making my own!" That's how you get the control back, right?

    We've been debating in our home about making our own breads. Tried it? Is it worth it? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

    I used to before I became diabetic. It was well worth it to us when I devoted Sundays and Thursdays to making bread (we used a bread machine). Now, almost no one in the house eats bread, this includes my 17 yr old & 24 yr old....I used to buy it, but it would just rot :huh: Same thing with rice & pasta. I tried, believe me, but they just won't eat the stuff anymore & instead choose to pillage MY keto meals :frown: It's freeekin expensive, but, what's a mom to do? :laugh:

    Now I just make enough for everyone, which has me cooking up to 3 x daily. pfft. Don't like that part much :blushing:

    ETA: although we used a bread maker for sliced breads, I make roti the old fashioned way & the kids like that better. Really strange for American kids, but, whatever, this I still make :laugh:
  • jsd_135
    jsd_135 Posts: 291 Member
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    Bump for good stuff below.
    yes yes yes.

    bread should be flour, water and yeast. salt for taste and sometimes oil. nothing else is required.

    making your own bread will give you hours of delicious pleasure and you will not wish to eat store-bought again. It is NOT time-consuming - ten minutes to mix and knead the dough is all it takes of active care time. the tricky bit is planning ahead and timing it so it proves properly.

    For me, I make a dough in the evening and let it do its first prove, then before bed I mould it into a loaf and put it in the fridge. In the morning I heat up the oven, throw it in and there is just enough time for me to eat fresh bread. Alternatively I do it the other way - make the dough in the morning, let it prove in the fridge, take it out, let it come to room temperature whilst at the gym, then shape and prove, then shove in the oven to cook before bed. It's there for breakfast, all delicious and if your oven goes hot enough, crunchy.

    I recommend TheFresh loaf website for ideas and instructions on many breads, although they favour the Peter Reinhart method of kneading - I find that too time consuming (as in have to be in the house) so prefer Richard Bertinet's technique. His 'Dough' and 'Crust' books are excellent.

    then go one step further and make a sourdough mother. a sourdough loaf keeps for ages and is beautifully chewy. Sure it takes a few more days to make but what the hell. and it really is easy to make the starter - a bit of flour, a bit of water, time.

    I don't favour bread machines. Use them to make a dough by all means, but I find them too dense and a little flavourless.

    Making bread is easy, but it's all in the timing.
  • maillemaker
    maillemaker Posts: 1,253 Member
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    I don't think there is anything particularly "toxic" in store-bought bread. Sure, it may have preservatives in it, but they probably aren't particularly bad for you to eat, and won't have anything to do with weight loss.

    There are two potential problems with eating bread:

    First, eating bread, particularly fresh-baked bready goodness, can be a real willpower problem leading to over-consumption. I don't know about you, but I can and have eaten fresh break like cake. One slice of whole wheat bread can contain over 100 calories. It doesn't take much bread to consume a good chunk of your daily calorie allotment.

    If you can control yourself to only eat a slice or two, and you can live with squandering 200 precious calories on a few mouthfuls of food, go for it!

    The second problem with bread is that it is, of course, a carb-rich food. This means it will get converted to fuel by your body pretty quickly with the resultant spike and crash in blood sugar levels, which can lead to feeling hungry very soon after eating it.

    So eating bread can be a double-whammy on your willpower. You have to have the willpower to control how much of the delicious goodness you indulge in and you have to have the willpower to deal with the hunger that may come after eating it.
  • savithny
    savithny Posts: 1,200 Member
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    Homemade bread, to me, sort of falls into Michael Pollan's tip in "Food Rules" -- he says "Eat all the junk food you want as long as you make it yourself."

    (Note to those who are going to quibble: Its a book of possible rules you can select from to move towards eating better; it's not an absolute proscription OR unfettered permission to eat badly).

    If you're making it yourself for specific purposes (bread for sandwiches for lunch, toast to go with your eggs for breakfast, etc) -- we don't squander our homemade bread because we know we need to make sandwiches for lunchboxes the next day and it would be so much work to make more. It helps keep consumption planned and regular.

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