Stretch Your Food Dollar: Make Your Own Bread
In last week’s installment of Stretch Your Food Dollar we talked about the nuts and bolts of setting a food budget – picking a number that works for your household. I mentioned that my goal for this year is to reduce our food bill by $50 a month and sock that money away into our savings account. One way that I plan to do this is by making my own bread.
If you’ve been watching food prices, I’m sure you’ve noticed that the cost of bread and cereal has gone up steadily for the past few years. That’s because the cost of grain is rising due to the increased trend of farmers growing corn for ethanol. A loaf of bread is typically $3 to $4 these days. If you need specialty breads like spelt because of gluten intolerance, you can expect to pay $6 at the store.
You could certainly get a store-brand loaf of bread for $2 to save money, but these loaves of bread are full of air and have very little nutritional value. The best way to stretch your food dollar is to make the bread yourself. For $1.72 a loaf, you can have fresh homemade bread that is every bit as healthy as a $4 loaf from the store.
The following recipe is for 4 loaves of bread. Store your extra loaves in the freezer, because bread stales when you store it in the fridge. If you like a lighter crumb, use half wheat flour and half white flour. You will need to use the dough hook attachment on your mixer. This recipe takes one hour from beginning to end to make.
Whole Wheat Bread
6 cups whole wheat flour
4 cups warm water
2 tbsp yeast
1/3 cup molasses or honey
1/2 cup oil
1. In a large mixer, add the yeast and the flour, pour the water in and mix. Let stand 15 minutes.
2. Add the oil and honey. Mix on medium speed until the dough forms ball and the sides of the bowl are clean.
3. Shape into 4 loaves. Put oven on warm and let the loaves rise in the oven until they double in size.
4. Turn up oven to 350 and bake for 30-35 minutes.
5. When your bread comes out of the oven, turn the loaf pans over a cooling rack so the loaves fall out of the pans. While the bread is still hot, brush the entire loaf with a little butter. This helps your bread stay moist and adds a little extra flavor to the crust.
I want to thank my grandmother for teaching me how to make bread. This is her recipe and I got my culinary start baking with her when I was a child. I hope you all enjoy how wonderful your house will smell after you start making your own bread. If there is a heaven, I think it must be filled with the aroma of fresh bread. Now that I think about it, I’d better go put a batch together. Just the thought of hot bread is making me hungry!
Photo credit: stock.xchng
If nothing else, frozen, unrisen loaves are frequently on sale for 5/$1 (having a mental block as to who makes these, despite the fact that we use them!).
For one dollar, we get a good, crusty bread loaf and our house smells bready.
I grew up with homemade bread. My dad said store bought bread – especially white store bought bread, was nothing more than styrofoam. You’ll also notice if you read the ingredents list that store bought bread contains many non-nutritional and sometimes harmful ingredients such as preservatives. lots of allergens are used in commercial bread also. By making your own bread you can make sure you get exactly what you need and want without any of the other. I use canola oil in my bread – very good for you. Thanks,
Margaret
Mmmm, bread. I used to make it all the time, and for some reason got out of the habit. But this recipe, with only one rise, looks like something I can work with.
I’m inspired. Thank you.
Wolverine, I’m glad this has sparked your baking interest again.
Just a note – you can use honey in place of molasses. If you use honey, you will need to add additional flour. Almost an additional cup.
STOLE MY POST..LOL!!!!
I was going to do one on another essential kitchen appliance..the Breadmaker. LOL!!!
I do think you meant $1.72 for FOUR loaves didn’t you??? That list of ingredients shouldn’t come to $6.88 no matter how extravagant you are.
But anyway a little extra from my own experience.
I use butter usually when it calls for a Fat.
I use Nestle or Klim Full Fat (28%) powdered milk…also keeps well if your not a milk drinker and is ideal for making up thinks that require milk in the cooking…but lets me put all the ingredients in the breadmaker and set it so that it does its thing so I have a fresh loaf when the alarm goes off in the morning. Powdered won’t go bad in the couple of hours before the machine starts to cycle.
Yeast is bought in the Restaurant Supply House…NOT Sams as they sometimes forget that yeast is a living thing and leaving it out in a trailer in the summer heat will kill it making it useless…I only buy SAF anyway $3 for a 1/2 kilo bag I keep in a tub in the fridge…I also leave a two tablespoon coffee measure in the tub as thats just right measurement for my breadmaker.
Actually I bought cheap measuring cups at the dollar store and leave the most used size in the storage containers for the flour, sugar, powdered milk, and yeast.
I love making different kinds of bread by changing the type of sweetener and flours used as well as adding all sorts of other things.
A good half cup of very finely chopped onion (used dried onions soak in water for an hour or overnight in the fridge and add water and all to the pan) along with a third of a cup of poppy seeds makes a delicious Onion Poppy Seed bread that is wonderful with Cream Cheese.
I have to try your Grandmothers recipe.
~ Roland
I adore homemade bread. Started making it this past year. Only managed a loaf every month or two, but it’s SO worth it. Also have enjoyed homemade pizza dough – gosh, now I’m hungry again.
Hey Roland, I got a bread maker for Christmas and I am loving it every day. Like you said, set the timer before bed and you wake up to the smell of fresh bread. Holy crap – it’s heaven. If only I could get a coffeemaker with a timer on it, then I’d really be in business!
Good point about storing your yeast in the fridge. Heat will absolutely kill your yeast. I’m going to try your onion bread recipe – it sounds delicious!