The Bread Winner

Bread! That can be a big topic. I will just cover how we do bread at my house and the “why’s”.

About five years ago I was doing some cleaning and getting rid of some things that were just taking up space and not being used. Under my kitchen sink sat a bread machine that I had gotten as a Christmas gift when I was 19 or 20. I had never used it. It was destined to go out the door with a pile of other things that had been collecting dust. I had placed it on the counter and kept looking at it. For some reason I decided that I would give it a try and see what I thought of it. After all, it was brand new and still in the box, instruction book, recipes and all. It was worth a shot.

From that day forward I have not needed to purchase bread from the store. I started thinking about how cost friendly it was to bake our own bread. The family loved having it FRESH! I don’t eat bread very often, but nothing beats the smell and feeling of fresh bread baking in the house!

Over the years I have made several different varieties and most of the time I use locally grown wheat flour. This bread machine has many redeeming qualities. I think my favorite thing about it is the fact that I can throw the ingredients in the pan and go about my busy day. It literally takes me three minutes!

Another HUGE perk of making my own bread for my family is knowing EXACTLY what is in it. When you purchase bread off the store shelf, you can be sure you are consuming lots of preservatives. Really if you think about it, the basic ingredients in bread should start to mold within three days. Most of the bread on the store shelves have been baked many days if not weeks before they even arrive to their destination.

Here are a couple good rules to follow when trying to make healthy choices.

1. If it has a nutrition label, it’s probably not good for you. (Aside from package fruits and veggies, which are really best not packaged)
2. If there is something in the list of ingredients that you can not pronounce or have not heard of, chances are it has unhealthy side effects!

Here are a list of ingredients that is in the bread recipe that I follow.

• flour (I use the locally grown wheat flour)
• sea salt
• sugar
• water
• oil (I use organic coconut oil)
• yeast

That is it!

Fast, easy, efficient, inexpensive. To me that equals greatness!

I have also found great satisfaction in baking a fresh loaf of bread for a neighbor, a friend, or someone’s birthday whom I normally wouldn’t purchase a gift for. It’s just so quick and easy and homemade anything is one of the best gifts to give/receive.

If a bread machine is something you would love to try, I know people often sell them for very cheap at garage sales. For a little machine that sat unused and unloved for nine years, it sure is making up for lost time now!

Happy Baking!