Before I got started I read a several daunting articles and procedures that made the art of breadmaking sound akin to alchemy in both level of difficulty and overall success. It's also important to note here, I don't own a bread machine, a kitchen aid mixer (or any stand mixer for that matter), or even a "super nice" bread pan
. The rules of the challenge dictated that we could not spend more than $5 on the project, so I couldn't purchase any of those items either. Additionally, the first two wouldn't be in the budget anyway and the last would still be considered a nicety. Now it's not that I don't have a suitable amount of confidence in the kitchen, but I'm never too sure about baking. It's seems like there is a lot of precision, steps to follow and oh measuring (yucky measuring). "Cooking" always feels a lot more fluid - much more absent minded type friendly (too much pepper - who cares?).
Well I did find a few helpful posts, one by Trent @ The Simple Dollar. He says " In fact, bread is quite easy to make at home" Okay, well I guess I have to try. Also, if you follow the link, there is a great tutorial on how.
I basically followed every bit of the tutorial as exactly as possible. (I tell you - baking brings out the nerves). I will say I did knead the bread longer than necessary; I guess I was caught up in the moment. If you aren't aware already, I think kneading could be considered a great upper body workout.
Here's the photo proof
The dough is rising
Into the oven
Ta da!
Lesson Learned:
Bread making is NOT scary, and can be Fun!
Oh - and another good thing - It's cheap. My cost calculation on this came to - $0.54, it would be $0.97 if you did not use bulk yeast. Either way cheaper than the store, and with way fewer additives. Store bought bread never tasted sooooo good, even with my lack of skills - this bread was diving. We ate a couple pieces just after it came out of the oven - it was edible heaven.
Okay, all that being said - I seriously had a great time doing this. Even if it didn't save me money, I would probably still do it occasionally just for entertainment value alone. (I know - easily entertained)
This looks sooo yummy. I may have to try making my own bread sometime!
ReplyDeleteYes - it's fun! It really is.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! That's a beautiful loaf. The thing I like most about bread (compared to that really fancy French pastry baking) is that it's more about how the mix *feels* then the exact exact measurements. Something about flour makes baking a bit of an art as well as a science.
ReplyDeleteInteresting that each one of us have commented to some degree or another about how much fun we had doing this challenge. Fun making things we weren't sure would come out at all. Just trying something new and sharing it with other people.
ReplyDeleteRuby Leigh, your bread looks divine. Yeasty and fluffy and just waiting to melt some butter.
Out of curiosity, is it a white bread that you made? I'm hoping to try a whole loaf of homemade whole wheat. I've made little rolls with 100% whole wheat already, so I'm looking at moving on to the whole loaf. I think I'll have to check out the tutorial you mentioned.
Thanks for showing us your work!
Your bread looks beautiful, and the pan you baked it in is fancier than any of the bread pans your Great Grandma baked 100's of loaves in for years. Oh, she never had a kitchen aid mixer either, her being old school, she probably would have thought it detracted from the art of bread making! I'm glad it was fun too!
ReplyDelete@j. Wait - but do I get any sparkly points? lol - jk
ReplyDelete@JL - it's just regular ol' white. I was told to start that way if you are a beginner. I am going to add in some wheat flour next time around, and work my way up to 100% or the combination that I like. Oh, and believe me butter was included. :)
@Mom - too bad Great Grandma didn't keep recipes, so many things I would like to make and eat. In the bread category alone there is Coffee Cake and Dinner Rolls.
Of course you get sparkly points! What a silly question. Not sure how you'll be able to tell, though- what with them being invisible and all. I guess they can live with the unicorn in my back yard.
ReplyDeleteOh, yeah, and beating on a pile of dough is *much* cheaper anger burning than Ice hockey. And almost as much fun.
That's a beautiful loaf of bread. And, I'm with you - baking bread can be really entertaining.
ReplyDeleteJust so you know, you're not alone on making bread w/o the use of a stand mixer. I have one, but I never use it when I make bread. I make bread using a bowl, a wooden spoon, and my hands. I feel like you can taste the love better that way.
I'm so happy. Another convert to the wonders of bread making!!!
ReplyDeleteI love home made bread and it is definately an upper body workout.
I used to live in an upstairs apartment where the kitchen window was level with the windows on the train tracks in the back yard (it was a raised dike/berm thing, don't ask). One day I was kneading my bread and a train was parked on the tracks outside my window. The engineer watched me for a while and then opened his window and shouted something at me. Turns out, he couldn't figure out what the heck I was doing. I just raised my pile of dough up so he could see it and he nodded his head and waved.