The bread of life

There's not much on this planet I love more than a slab of hot, fresh bread with pats of cold butter on it.

See, the mix of cold creamy butter melting on bread that's so fresh from the oven it's steaming is a piece of heaven to me. Doesn't even matter what kind of bread it is.

But you can't get that with a loaf of bread from the store. The only way you can get it is to make your own.

I make my own bread for many reasons: It tastes better. It's cheaper. It's fun. It's good exercise for your arms! It connects me to the food I put in my body. And it makes the house smell fantastic.

When I talk with people about making bread, most will lament that they wish they had that kind of time, usually after asking me what kind of bread machine I use (no bread machine here other than my hands).

Making bread involves, at most, about 20-25 minutes of actual, hands-on work - depending on the recipe and how many times you want to let dough rise. The yeast and your oven do 95 percent of the work, leaving you to do whatever you want or need while the bread rises or bakes.

In the interest of full disclosure, I don't always have time to make bread, either. Certainly not every week. I work an average of 50 hours a week, and spend a day on my CSA's farm from spring through fall. So I usually pick one day a month, after I've pulled the last loaf from our freezer, and make two batches on a Saturday or Sunday. Leave one loaf out, put the rest in the freezer.

But here's the great thing about homemade bread: it's CHEAPER!

My standard bread (Oatmeal Bread), at last check, costs me $1.83. And that's for two loaves. So, that's 81.5 cents a loaf. And I use organic flour. With regular flour, it's probably in the neighborhood of 65-70 cents a loaf. You're lucky if $1.83 gets you one loaf of white bread (patooey!) in a grocery store, and you certainly won't find anything under $1 - unless you go to a bakery thrift store.

The best thing of all? Homemade bread flat out tastes better.

Oatmeal Bread
(adapted slightly from More With Less)
Makes two loaves

1 cup of oats
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 TBSP salt
2 TBSP butter
2 cups boiling water

Mix in a big bowl and let cool to about 110 degrees (depending on how warm your kitchen is, this takes about 20-25 minutes... just stick a thermometer in and keep an eye on it).

While that's cooling, take one packet of yeast (or 2.25 tsp if you have it in a jar), and mix with a pinch of sugar in 1/2 cup warm water. Let that proof 10-15 minutes or so.

Once the bread cools, mix the proofed yeast in with the bread batter, and gradually add 5 cups of flour. At some point, and only you can best determine when that is, turn the bowl onto a lightly floured surface, and work the remaining flour into the dough.

Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth & elastic - this can take 5-8 minutes, depending on your flour, but only takes me about 3 or 4. Grease up a large bowl (I use melted butter), cover with a towel and let it rise in a warmish place until doubled in bulk (1-2 hours).

Once the dough has risen, punch it down (in the bowl) and knead it again. Divide in half and place in two greased/buttered bread pans. Cover with a towel and let rise again until doubled in bulk (1-2 hours).

Set your oven to 350, and once it's done, pop the bread pans in for 30 minutes. Once they're done baking, remove to a wire rack, brush with melted butter (gives it a softer crust). Let 'em cool or start carving!

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Bake on!