Save money, make your own bread

The other day I was asked to write about a money saving tip and I thought to myself how could I save money and have fun doing it? And then it hit me, I could bake my own bread. Not only do you save a bit of cash making it yourself, seeing as the ingredients you use are really minimal and cost effective but you have full bragging rights afterwards and the satisfaction of knowing that when someone asks “This bread is amazing, did you make it yourself?” You can proudly and loudly say “Why yes, yes I did!”

I think that often you don’t realise that you can save money on the small things in life, like baking your own bread or making soap, or cutting up your own pineapple instead of buying it from a fancy supermarket ready-cubed.

I think what made me enjoy this little money saving exercise even more is that it was really fun and quite therapeutic. Oh, and when I pulled the loaf out of the oven it smelt amazing by the way, like a French bakery in the morning and it made me feel really good that it was 100% homemade by my two little hands.

If any of you are keen to try this easy recipe out for yourself I’ve included it below. So happy baking and happy money saving.

Makes 2 loaves – or one big loaf.

Ingredients: 

2 teaspoons active-dry yeast
1 cup warm water
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 tablespoon salt
5 1/2 – 6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Directions:

1. Make sure the water is warm to the touch. Pour the one cup of water into the bowl of a standing mixer or large mixing bowl and sprinkle the yeast over the top. Let this stand for 5 minutes until the yeast is dissolved.
2. Melt the butter in the microwave. Stir in the milk, sugar, and salt. Pour 1 cup of flour and the milk mixture over the yeast. Stir until this comes together into a loose, lumpy batter.
3. Add another 4 1/2 cups of flour, reserving the remaining cup if the dough is sticky during kneading. Stir until a a semi-dough has formed.
4. Using the dough hook attachment on a standing mixer, knead the dough for 8-10 minutes. Alternatively you can knead the dough by hand against the counter. If the dough is bubble-gum sticky against the sides of the bowl or the counter, add extra flour, a tablespoon at a time until it is no longer sticky. The is ready when it is smooth, feels slightly tacky, forms a ball without sagging, and springs back when poked.
5. Clean out the mixing bowl and film it with a little oil. Form the dough into a ball and turn it in the bowl to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise in a warm spot until doubled in bulk, I waited about an hour.
6. Sprinkle a little flour on the counter and turn the dough out on top. Using your hand stretch and roll the dough out to form one long piece that looks like a sausage.  Let it rest for 10 minutes.
7. Take your dough sausage and start to curl it in on itself to form a spiral. Place that on a piece of baking paper on a baking tray.
8. Heat the oven to 190°C/ 375°F and bake for 30-35 minutes. The finished load will be dark golden-brown and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.

The loaf will keep at room temperature for several days, it can also be wrapped in foil and plastic, and frozen for up to three months.

Recipe source – http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-basic-white-sandwich-bread-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-166588