Mostly For My Own Amusement, An Experiment In Machine Breadmaking

This past week, I rediscovered a long-lost friend. Lurking in the back of a kitchen cupboard behind the lonely Tupperware lids and ice-slushie mugs was my bread machine.

My parents bought the machine for me back in 2000 as a 21st birthday present and back then I thought it was the best thing since, well, awkwardly-sliced bread. Somewhere along the way though, I decided bread-making wasn't for me and put the machine in whatever cupboard was the least used to keep it out of the way. I've used it a handful of times in the last few years, always frustrated at the silly little hole the blade cooked into the base (this was back before the age of collapsible blades) and the fact that I can never, ever slice the loaves thinly enough to make it an economical source of bread for sandwiches.

I don't know what made me drag it out this week. It may have been the kitchen cupboard reorganization or the fact that a brand of bread mix I'd used in the past with success was on sale at the supermarket. Either way, I loaded her up and baked my first loaf. The bread mix made the whole experience shamefully easy (pour in water, dump in bag of mix, measure out yeast, beep through menu, press start) but the best part came later, when the smell began to waft through the house. I'd forgotten how good that stuff smelled!

That first loaf, a multi-grain one, turned out light and fluffy and with just the right amount of chewiness from the grains. I still had the problem with slicing it (silly smell was making it hard to wait until it cooled, LOL) but this time it seemed okay somehow, I guess because I didn't jump into it thinking it was going to be a replacement for thin sandwich loaves. Just something a little extra to put on the table with dinner that night. The next loaf wasn't a loaf at all, but rolls - same process but I took the dough out of the mixing bowl and hand shaped, let it rise, and baked in the oven. Similar springiness and texture to the grainy bread I'd made earlier (same bread mix) and just as good as store-bought rolls.

Today, I used the machine again to knead and do the initial rise and then I shaped the dough myself. The resulting loaf was a good size but a little more dense. It actually sliced a lot better than the machine loaf too. But this little foray into breadmaking has got me thinking - why do people bake bread? What are the benefits? Come with me on a little journey while I nut this out...

Cost

At my local supermarket, I can buy a 20-slice loaf of store-bought bread for $2. At the same supermarket I paid about $6.80 for a 4pk of bread mix, or $1.70 per loaf. On the surface, it looks more economical to go for the bread mix, especially when you consider that this particular brand has yeast included and the grainy variety is more hearty. However, it's downfall comes when you try to slice it. The slices are large, but even with an electric bread knife and an experienced machine-baker-and-slicer (my MIL), I've rarely managed to see more than 10-12 slices. Now maybe that's my (or my MIL's!) lack of skill showing, but speaking to others, they seem to have a similar problem - fewer slices from a bread machine loaf. For the sake of this argument, and perhaps testament to my lack of practice, I'm going to assume 10 slices per loaf. So, to get the same number of slices as the store-bought, I'd have to make two machine loaves. This now makes the total cost more like $3.40 for a similar slice count. For some reason the size of the slice means far less to my kids - we'd all prefer more sandwiches over monstrous slabs of bread anyway. Again though, this is for pre-made bread mix, not your average totally-from-scratch loaf with flour, oil, yeast etc. That would, of course, be far cheaper than a store-bought loaf.

Health Benefits

Everyone knows homemade bread is healthier than store-bought. You can control the additives and you can alter ingredients based on individual family intolerances. In short, you know exactly what is going into your family members' tummies. You can also get ridiculously creative with different types, seed-mixes and sweet and savoury flavours rather than be restricted to the varieties your store carries.

Taste

Now, I'm thinking I probably don't need to elaborate on why homemade bread is better in this regard - but I will anyway! You just can't compare to it in terms of flavour. It's what real food tastes like - not the bland, bleached, uniform little bricks of blah you get at the store. Homemade bread has character. There's a history in each loaf, from the recipe used (Granny's everyday bread) to the smell (which has the power to instantly transport you back to your childhood) and even the texture in your mouth (the spongey flesh and the chewy crust...mmmm).

Convenience

Until I become a better baker (and/or slicer!) I don't think I'll be using homemade bread for sandwiches. Making your own bread takes a bit of finesse, something I have in pretty short supply, and for a family whose lunch habits revolve around lunchboxes and sandwiches, I'm just not 'there' yet. But for other things - fresh bread at dinnertime, hot rolls with soup - I'm totally into it. It seems to round out the meal just nicely, and because I don't have to worry about 'sliceable' loaves, I can get a bit more creative.

The Verdict

I'm loving the experimenting :) But so far, I've kept to the pre-made bread mixes which is kind of like cheating, LOL. And there's something else that is a bit frustrating - with the bread machine I can only make one loaf at a time, whether I use the machine to just knead for me or bake through to completion. It does take away some of the effort of course, but if I ever get to the point of baking to a more sustaining level - ie, sandwich bread - then practically-speaking I'd want to do several loaves at once, and that can be achieved far more quickly by mixing up the one (really large) batch of dough from scratch and dividing it to rise and bake. A bread machine isn't great for bulk baking.

So for me, baking my own bread isn't an economical decision - right now it's more about the taste and fun of it. But if anyone out there has an outstanding, foolproof, white, wholewheat or wholegrain 'from-scratch' bread recipe (we use all three in this house) then I'm all ears.

Fire away!