Bread homemade or store bought?

[fairygirl69]

Ahhh, there's something about the feel of a well made ball of bread dough. I too used my bread machine all the time before getting my lovely stand mixer. Now I just use the Kitchen aid bc I like to see how it all comes together. Well, that and my bread machine took a dive for the floor and consequently doesn't work as well now.

 

[CWS4322]

The only dough I make is pizza dough. I've tried making my own bread and had mixed results. Not having someone to show me and allow me to feel how the dough should be after kneading, I find I tend to overdo it and come out with rock hard bread or I don't let it rise enough or something. I had a bread machine for a while and that was good but it was taking up too much counter space in my old kitchen for the amount of use it got. Out it went. I buy my bread. Sometimes it's just the regular old white sandwich but I like having some rye and whole wheat and sourdough on hand as well.

My grandma taught me how to make bread when I was 9 years old, right after she taught me how to make pie crust. There is a "feel" to both and I'm glad she taught me both. After bread and pie crust, she taught me how to make lefse. All three are things I know I can make and have turn out. My brother tried making lefse once--it was like shoe leather.

I have rarely had bread not turn out. When I was in high school, I traded making cinnamon rolls (48 every Saturday and Sunday morning) for ski passes. People were standing in line waiting for me to arrive with the rolls. Because I don't eat bread very often, I tend to use the bread machine for pita dough. I keep the bread machine in the basement (along other things I don't use every day). Bonus--when I want to make bread, I get extra exercise because I have to go down and up a flight of stairs first.

 

[Snip 13]

Depends on what I'm using it for. I like sliced bought bread for work and school lunches,they stay fresher for longer and I homemade bread for home use

We've got a very good bakery so I can buy great breads too but I do like making my own sometimes.

 

[chopper]

I have not had any bread since I started dieting but, I do enjoy making my own bread, rolls and pizza dough.

I really enjoy making bread during a blizzard!

The smell of baking bread helps makes a house a home.

I'm in the middle of a blizzard right now and would love to bake some bread, but I cannot go there yet on this diet. I will stick with the crust less, sugar less, pumpkin pie that is making my house smell great!

I love to make home made bread. It just taste so much better than store bought. We do buy bread when I don't have time to make it. Lately I have been buying it because it is easier for me to leave it alone that way.

 

[BetsyB]

Store bought bread is JUNK, full of crap. My dad has perfected his bread. You'd be amazed what 15 or 20 years of perfecting his bread tastes like; without the high sugar, salt, preservatives of store breads. The flavor is AMAZING. People keep telling him he'd make millions selling it.

 

[pacanis]

Store bought bread is JUNK, full of crap. My dad has perfected his bread. You'd be amazed what 15 or 20 years of perfecting his bread tastes like; without the high sugar, salt, preservatives of store breads. The flavor is AMAZING. People keep telling him he'd make millions selling it.

That is AMAZING. Especially since so many people consider sugar and salt a pleasant flavor.

 

[chopper]

That is AMAZING. Especially since so many people consider sugar and salt a pleasant flavor.

 

[Chef Munky]

When I have time I bake our bread. Baking bread paid for the mixer.




Andy, if you lean that cookbook really really close to the mixer it will bake the bread for you, as long as you don't get it wet in the...errmm.. sink.

Awww, poor Andy.

Will you ever live that incident seat up or down?

 

[Zagut]

I love to bake bread but buying it from the store is just so much easier.

Time is a large factor.

I've been experimenting with pizza dough but I don't think I'll ever find the dough I want.

Maybe if I figure out my oven set up I'll get there.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

Store bought bread is JUNK, full of crap. My dad has perfected his bread. You'd be amazed what 15 or 20 years of perfecting his bread tastes like; without the high sugar, salt, preservatives of store breads. The flavor is AMAZING. People keep telling him he'd make millions selling it.

Betsy, IMO it depends on where in the store you're picking the bread up from. The bread aisle with commercially made fluffy stuff? OK, I'll agree with you. But our local grocery store makes quite a few in-store types with ingredient labels that read like my own bread recipes at home. I rarely find time to make homemade bread (and when I do make it the danged loaf evaporates the same day!) so when our neighboring town's artisanal bread bakery closed I was on a mission to find good store bread. Hubby wonders why it takes me so long to shop - I tell him ya gotta read the labels!

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Betsy, IMO it depends on where in the store you're picking the bread up from. The bread aisle with commercially made fluffy stuff? OK, I'll agree with you. But our local grocery store makes quite a few in-store types with ingredient labels that read like my own bread recipes at home. I rarely find time to make homemade bread (and when I do make it the danged loaf evaporates the same day!) so when our neighboring town's artisanal bread bakery closed I was on a mission to find good store bread. Hubby wonders why it takes me so long to shop - I tell him ya gotta read the labels!

On every single thing in the store. I dodged a bullet the other day, picked up Kirkland Marinara Sauce and spaced on reading the label. Luckily, no HFCS, quite tasty!

 

[desertwillow]

I've never actually had homemade bread, so I can't say (no one I know makes it and I don't have the inclination).

I like the Nature's Own 14 grain bread. I'm not a fan most breads that aren't heavy on the grains.

 

[BetsyB]

That is AMAZING. Especially since so many people consider sugar and salt a pleasant flavor.

True, but too much of a good thing....you know what they say.... store bought breads have like 4 or 5 grams of sugar per slice and we get use to that flavor. That is ridiculous, that's a teaspoon of sugar in one thin slice! It's not a dessert. My dad uses a tablepoon for the entire loaf and 1.5 teaspoon salt for the whole loaf, but trust me, you don't miss it, it doesn't taste bland the way in which he bakes it and the ingredients he uses. Store bought is loaded with so much salt and sugar to taste good and preserve it amongst all the other un-pronouncable preservatives yuck. Daves Killer bread tastes decent with all the seeds and all, then I read the ingredients and think, yep, multi millionaire Dave is killing us with his bread!

One thing about my dads bread though is the next day it's not the same. It goes from sheer perfection down to just good. Then the day after that, we make another and the rest goes to the birds. Super short shelf life is the trade off, thus cannot really be sold.

 

[BetsyB]

Betsy, IMO it depends on where in the store you're picking the bread up from. The bread aisle with commercially made fluffy stuff? OK, I'll agree with you. But our local grocery store makes quite a few in-store types with ingredient labels that read like my own bread recipes at home. I rarely find time to make homemade bread (and when I do make it the danged loaf evaporates the same day!) so when our neighboring town's artisanal bread bakery closed I was on a mission to find good store bread. Hubby wonders why it takes me so long to shop - I tell him ya gotta read the labels!

I completely agree cooking goddess, there are exceptions, but not in the regular bread aisle. Buying fresh from the bakery helps a lot. It's true, it takes time. My dad is quick but only because he's done it so long.

 

[chopper]

I completely agree cooking goddess, there are exceptions, but not in the regular bread aisle. Buying fresh from the bakery helps a lot. It's true, it takes time. My dad is quick but only because he's done it so long.

Is your dad willing to share the recipe?...

 

[CharlieD]

Is your dad willing to share the recipe?...

I second the request

 

[BetsyB]

I don't know chopper, you laughed when someone else kinda made fun of me. But sure I will ask him this weekend when I visit & let you guys know

But 3 things you should know:

1. If you don't have time for putting ingredients in a bread maker and letting IT do all the work, you likely won't have time for this because his bread is made mostly in the oven, the bread maker is a small part of the process, he does it daily.

2. Even the bread coming solely out of a bread maker without the added work of the oven, is still better than store bought in flavor and ingredients you choose. I actually think that *some* store bought taste good, though not like his of course, but not worth it to me as I get enough preservatives and junk from other food. I can't afford to eat organic for instance, so like many, I eat GMO's, pesticides, hormones etc... While I have amazing bread, I don't have access to other healthy foods that are more important.

3. Like with anything else, if it takes too good, it's almost impossible not to overeat the bread. It smells up their entire house. The crispy outside, soft warm inside. I have gained weight as a result and my body doesn't need so much bread anyway. Still, I'd be depressed as heck if I became gluten intolerant.

 

[Kylie1969]

We did own a bread machine at one time and used to make lots of bread, but now we like to go to an Italian bakery up the road and buy their crusty continentals and ciabatta's etc

 

[BetsyB]

We did own a bread machine at one time and used to make lots of bread, but now we like to go to an Italian bakery up the road and buy their crusty continentals and ciabatta's etc

You're right. We all got sick of the bread machine bread over time. It was good, but everyday for years is too much. So my had began making other varieties including baguettes. Their not just different shape, totally different flavor. You can make ciabbatas as well by making the dough in the machine and then cooking it in the oven.

I googled baguette and bread machine and got a bunch of recipes that look like his, which involve the oven as well as the bread maker. I don't remember his exact recipe and it's changed, but these recipes look quite familiar as far as the ingredients and perhaps the actual baking portion too. The end result is also similar looking, don't know about the flavor.

 

[desertwillow]

I think it's important to point out that not all store bought bread is unhealthy.

Nature's Own 100% whole wheat has no artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives, and no HFCS. It also tastes far better than any other bread I've bought, including fresh from the bakery. It doesn't have a long shelf life, likely due to the no preservatives.

Yes, it has sugar, but only 2g. They do make a sugar-free bread as well. Considering the DV for added sugar is 24-36 grams, a sandwich with store bought bread is hardly something to concern myself with.

Homemade doesn't always automatically equal healthier. I've seen plenty of "home cooked" things that would give me a coronary if I ate it lol.