Bread

Bread... So simple... So basic...

Bread. In the U.S., we eat a lot of bread. Sandwiches, toast, rolls, pancakes(raised flour), even cookies. Bread can be SOOO good, and good for you. Unfortunately, there is a lot of bad bread out there. I've found in my frugal travels, that cheap bread often does not taste good and it can be bad for you as well.

For about 40 cents I can buy a loaf of airy, dry, bad for me bread at the discount grocery store, or I can bake my own. I know, I know, who has time to bake bread? Well, it's not that hard and you will LOVE the results. I will show you two ways to make really good bread with just a little effort.


Get a bread machine. They can be expensive if you purchase one at the department store, but that is totally not neccessary. Everytime I go to our local thrift store, I see at least 5 bread machines available for under 20 bucks. I suspect that these machines were purchased by their original owners with good intentions, but like all new toys, the machines lost their luster, and then found new homes at the resale shop. You win!!

You don't need to use a "mix". I recently mentioned to a girlfriend that I was saving money baking my own bread in the machine and she said, "But those mixes are so expensive, how can you be saving money?" Mixes are uneccessary when the ingredients are available and cheaper.

Basic Bread Recipe for Bread Machine

9 oz warm water - pour in pan first (1 cup plus 2 tablespoon)
3 cups bread flour
3 tbsp dry milk
2 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tbp butter - cut into 4 pieces and placed in the corners of the pan
2 tsp yeast - placed into a "well" of the dry ingredients in the pan

Place all ingredients in the pan in the order written, place pan in machine, select bread setting (my machine is basic setting), hit start, and wait for the aroma of baking bread to fill your home.



If you plan to make a lot of bread, like me, I suggest purchasing flour and yeast in bulk. It's not too expensive to purchase them in bulk. I can get a 25 lb bag of flour for about 15 dollars at Costco and a 1 or 2 pound vaccuum pack of yeast for about 7 dollars. These bulk ingredients usually last 6 months to a year for our house. You will need to invest in storage containers, but it will be worth the cost.

Make sure the flour you purchase says either gluten flour, bouncer flour, or bread flour. All-purpose or cake flour will not work well in the bread machine.

For storage, I purchased food grade air-tight dog food containers. To make sure you are purchasing food grade plastic, look at the bottom of the container. If the recycle triangle has a 1, 2, or 5 in the center, from my research, you can use it to store flour. If you scavange 5 gallon plastic buckets from the donut shop, just make sure the container originally held food and not paint or chemicals. Many times, bakeries or delis will give you their old buckets or sell them to you for a few dollars.

When you store your flour, add a few bay leaves to your container. I usually stick a few in the bottom and then tape a few to the inside lid to keep bugs away.

I keep my yeast in a recycled coffee can in the fridge. Your yeast will keep much longer in an air tight, opaque container, especially if it is kept cool.


I haven't worked out the math yet... I'll get to it one day.. but I guarantee that the bread you make yourself will be worth the initial investment. I can't imagine that this bread could be anywhere near the cost of the bread you purchase in the grocery store. You will LOVE serving this bread to your family.

Bread.