Homemade Bread

One of my greatest challenges in my efforts to eat less processed more whole foods is bread. My kids like (or shall I say love) bread. Toast for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch, they would have a hard time going without bread. Reading the side of the package on the whole wheat bread I have been buying for years revealed to me a long list of ingredients, with many things I couldn’t pronounce. This certainly does not fit in with my new policy of only eating things with ingredients I would use in my own kitchen and only buying food with five ingredients or less.

So what to do? I searched for bread with fewer ingredients. I found some at Wal-Mart but it was expensive as well as being a small loaf. They also did not always have it in stock when I needed bread. I thought about making it myself. I have made bread in the past. I like to make bread. But, making bread takes time. Even my favorite way of making bread in 5 minutes a day, takes time to make the dough, let it sit, and then come back and shape and bake it.

One thing I had never thought of was using a bread machine. I do not have a bread machine and it never entered my mind to use one to make bread. But then while talking with my Aunt and Uncle about my bread woes, they offered me the use of their bread machine. THye said they do not use it much anymore and I could take it and try it out to see how I like it.

So far I love it. I have made three loaves of bread and we have liked every one of them. I like knowing exactly what is going into my bread and using fewer ingredients.  We have used the bread for toast, for sandwiches, as a snack with honey and more. The house smells so good while it is baking and most importantly: I know what ingredients have gone into my bread.