Thrify Thursday: Making Homemade Bread

Many years ago, my husband bought me a bread maker which I was totally scared of.  I made the two box mixes that he bought with them and some quick bread recipes.  I found it really wasn't worth making quick breads because it took more to clean then my pottery loaf pans that go directly in the dishwasher. plus it left that weird dent in the middle of the loaf of bread that wasn't worth it for those breads so it went back into the cabinet to take up a lot of room.

During my quest to become more frugal, I pulled that bread maker out and made a basic bread recipe.  It wasn't great but it still made the house smell great and it helped me learn how to cut fresh bread.  In case you haven't attempted the cutting of a loaf hot out of the oven, it is very difficult to cut a thin slice of bread.  The first bread recipe gave me the courage to pay for the more expensive ingredients- bread flour, whole wheat flour, honey and gluten.

After a wonderful bread knife that I received for Christmas and a much better bread recipe (whole loaf pictured here), I think that I could make this bread all the time.  I was still working on the cutting as you can tell from the picture of really thick bread slices.  The great part is that if over six months, I have learned how to quickly throw together this bread and slice it much better.  For those of you who don't already have a bread maker collecting dust, try to make a loaf using your mixer and see if you think it isn't the best thing that you have eaten!

In order to keep the bread fresh, I cut it when I need it instead of all at once.  My family likes soft and squishy bread and this helps keep it that way.  The even better part is that it keeps fresh much longer and I don't have to worry about trying to match up breads that aren't too thick for a sandwich :) 

If I am out of bread for my husband's lunch the next day, I throw it in the bread machine and it is all set for the morning without having to run out to the store.  They say that the way to stop spending money is to stop going to the store so that you don't get anything not on your list.  The even better thing is that I don't have to go out of my way to stop at the store and I am giving my family bread without preservatives and other ingredients.  The bread maker is my crockpot for carbs producing yummy bread at the drop of a hat!!

I hope that other people use this thrifty measure to make the budget stretch a little farther and enjoy some home cooked bread.