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Baby carrots, puppies and bread. Three things I think are much more fun in miniature versions. I got a set of four mini bread pans for Christmas from Greg. They are the gift that keeps on giving. I've made little loaves of bread, cornbread and tonight, cinnamon crumb cake. Mini bread and cakes are not only dainty and cute, they serve practical purposes as well. For one, when you live in a household of just one or two people, one little loaf of bread or cake is all you really need. If you have a lot of batter or dough, you can bake several loaves and freeze the extra or give them away as gifts. You are less likely to have your bread/cake go stale or moldy before you get around to eating it all and you have a few extras to pop out of the freezer on lazy or busy days. I don't know about you but I really appreciate homemade gifts and would be happy to be offered a little loaf of rustic bread or delicious pound cake as a gift. Wink, wink.
One of my goals for this year is to eat less processed food, including bread. Did you know that most store bought breads contain more ingredients than actual items we have in our fridge? There are all sorts of flavor enhancers, dyes and preservatives in supermarket bread. All kinds of stuff you don't need or want and I am all about simplicity. Most of the bread we eat is now homemade. It just tastes better. Its easy to do once you get the hang of it and really doesn't take much time. I'd offer a bread recipe here in this post but there are so many easy, simple bread recipes out there so why reinvent the wheel?
I do have a confession though. I never claim to be perfect and just like everyone else, I sometimes feel lazy, tired or just don't have the time to make everything from scratch. Tonight I used a boxed cinnamon crumb cake batter. I've forgiven myself. In my defense, Greg did make us homemade pasta tonight to go with our leftover roast (free-range, ethically raised) chicken.
I have never made bread before and would love to try! Do you make it in the oven or in one of those bread making machines?
ReplyDeleteWe do ours in the oven but my mom has a bread machine and she uses it a lot. It mixes, rises and bakes the bread all in one.
ReplyDeleteIt is funny that you are talking about bread and preservatives. Mike and I were just having this same conversation last night. I asked him how he thought that it was possible for our homemade bread to last a week, but the bread in the grocery lasts months.
ReplyDeleteI love making bread and all things bready(is that even a word?). I have a bread machine, but I don't really use it that much, I prefer to do it by hand and then shape my loaves into my own shapes (I made a Challah Wreath at Christmas, forgot to take pics, but it turned out great). I am still envious of your mini pans though. When we move and get settled I think that I am going to have to invest in a set.
Thanks for the post!
I've been baking all of my family's bread for the last few months (because of a schedule mishap, I bought a loaf yesterday for the first time in several months). It tastes better. It's better for us. it makes fabulous toast. Really, it makes me wonder when and why our society moved to white squishy bread with no real body or nutrition.
ReplyDeleteGood point K. I wonder the same thing and not just about bread. I guess people feel like they can't be bothered with making bread from scratch and go for the convenience and messlessness (is that a word?) of plastic bag bread. Marcy- I could use a blog post about making loaves into shapes. I don't really know how to make the pretty ones.
ReplyDeleteYour bread looks yummy Erica...I love the fact that you and Greg have so many of the same interests....sounds like you have fun together! I have a bread machine but I'm not overly impressed in how the bread comes out. I bought it at a garage sale ...so I know it's old. Does anyone have a bread machine they would recommend? I don't like the fact that mine doesn't look like a loaf of bread either...I know that's picky but I like bread in a loaf rather than a cylinder.
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