I don’t know if anyone else has noticed but good quality bread* is getting more expensive every year. Grain prices are going up so this isn’t surprising. My own grocery budget is getting smaller so paying almost $4 a loaf and going through two loaves a week is $8 a week. That’s $32 a month in bread.
We could, of course, give up bread. There is a lot of noise out there from people evangelizing (or waxing rhapsodically at any rate) about the wonders of the Paleo diet. Eschew all grains! I’m all for everyone eating a diet that suits them, that makes them feel their best and if not eating grains makes you feel your best than I have no argument against it. For you. But I don’t view grains as evil or bad for my health. So I continue to embrace them.
I’d forgotten how wonderful it is to bake my own bread. My mom has decided that she wants to bake bread once a week to help us save money. She used to bake bread in the hippie commune I was born into but that was over 36 years ago. So she asked me to give her a refresher course. I love the feel of bread dough, I love shaping it, punching it down, the smell of the yeast. Then, at last, the smell of the bread in the oven is the most heavenly smell in the world.
If you haven’t baked bread before I suggest you get the book “Great Breads” by Martha Rose Shulman. I learned to bake from that book and taught two friends to bake bread using that book.
I’m looking forward to more home baked bread!
*My definition of good quality means: whole grain, zero preservatives (big fat 0), made locally. Or artisan bread for special occasions using white flour but zero preservatives and made locally.
OMG, that is gorgeous.
I’ve baked our bread for years. The prices are crazy at the stores and more and more I can’t justify many things that I know I can just make myself. Good for you and your mom!
We don’t eat as many grain products as we used to, but I think these named diets are rather extreme. Instead of making sweeping restrictions for ourselves, we just take it how we feel.
Thanks Aimee!
Ann- I used to bake a lot of our bread and I fell out of the habit. It doesn’t even take much time to do it so I’m glad my mom is getting us back to home baked. Flour prices are also rising but it’s still considerably cheaper to make bread from scratch. I really don’t trust any diet that vilifies any entire group of food. But I think if grains make you feel less healthy- then it makes sense to not eat them. Or, as you do, to eat less of them. What people eat is highly personal. We all have different bodies and I figure it’s like this: bell peppers may be considered one of the healthiest foods you can eat but they make me burp for a minimum of 4 hours so I clearly don’t digest them well. I’m going to take that as a sign that I shouldn’t eat them, no matter what anyone else’s experience is. (And no, doesn’t matter which color pepper it is or whether it’s cooked or not or has skin on or not-all sweet peppers make me burp for hours. Terribly unpleasant.)
Ugh, hours of pepper burps! I agree with you about food being highly personal. I wish I had something witty to add, but alas.
I can smell it from here.
Homemade bread is one of my favorite scents and taste, and the kneading process is good for taking out ones frustrations,therefore good for mental health!
Karmyn-do you bake bread?
Mindy- agreed!!