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.