Saturday, May 21, 2011

Keeping Kids Fed--Monday's Project

During my pregnancy and the stage of having a new infant I purchased bread because I just didn't have the extra energy to make it.  But lately, I've been feeling energetic again and have noticed that quality bread has gotten VERY expensive in our town.

So, on Monday, I decided to make up a week's worth of bread for my menu plan.  I took my favorite recipe and multiplied it by 6.  I'm thankful for my enormous tupperware bowl that I got at a yard sale for 25 cents because it is big enough to mix it all in.


If I had been making 1 loaf, I would have used my trusty bread machine.  But this batch was far too big for that.


I set it on the porch in the hot sunshine for a while and it rose very nicely.  Am I the only one who uses her van to raise bread sometimes in the spring, summer, or fall?  Cars sitting in the sunshine are always nice and toasty, perfect for raising bread dough.


The recipe x 6 ended up making 3 pans of homemade hamburger buns, 1 pan of breadsticks, 3 smaller loaves and 2 large loaves.


We ate the breadsticks with ravioli later in the week.


We shared a couple of loaves with friends who came over for Pray and Play one morning.


We used the buns for BBQ chicken sandwiches one night and Ham and Cheese Melts another night later in the week.

Would you believe that every bit of this bread was gone by Thursday night after dinner?  That means from Monday afternoon, when we had some for snack, to Thursday night, we ate 6 large loaves worth of bread!  If we hadn't shared with company it may have lasted a day or two longer, but still, that means our family can easily eat 6 large loaves a week! 

In a perfect world I would make this much bread every Monday.  I'm going to try to continue to do so on Mondays in the future, but I'm not opposed to being flexible and buying bread as I need to if my schedule doesn't allow for it.  Do you bake your own bread or find it cheaper/easier to buy it?

11 comments:

Thia said...

We switched from potato bread to white because of price. It has been a very long time since I have made bread. We love homemade bread, but I could never find a way to keep it soft and fresh after two days and do not have time to make it that often. So I stopped. Homemade bread does sound good though!

Thia said...

Oh...do you season the breadsticks with anything?

Heather said...

I used to always bake our own, but we've been buying it about half of the time lately. It is a nice treat when I'm pregnant and tired. :)

I also would like to make my loaves smaller. We have a 9 by 5 bread pan but I like how the smaller loaves turn out, so I'm on a search for smaller loaf pans. No luck yet--but maybe Goodwill will have what Target and Wal-Mart don't!

LS said...

I froze the breadsticks, then warmed them in the oven before dinner and put melted butter and garlic salt on them Thia.



If I see some small pans Heather, I will send them your way!

Lesley said...

Yummy!!! Can you e-mail me your bread recipe? Maybe someday I'll have the energy to make some! :)

foodie7 said...

How do you keep it fresh and soft for a whole week? I do make bread but after a couple of days there is a definite loss of moisture.

Dave Roller said...

The buns intrigue me. I've used many of Tammy's recipes, including this one. What did you do to the buns to make them look, well, so much like buns?
Amy (homeschool dad's wife)

Karri said...

The bread I make is an amish white bread recipe. I keep the loaves in the loaf pan covered with foil or wrap on top of the stove. It keeps for days.

Granted, we are a family of 7, so it usually doesn't last very long. But I've never had it go bad on me.

I love to bake break but just can't do it anymore without a mixer. Far too time consuming.

King's Daughter said...

I quit buying bread on a regular basis a couple of years ago, because I am trying to avoid as much processed foods, additives, etc. as possible. Many breads have HFCS, even the "good" brands. Of course, you can buy breads without it, or with less additives, but they usually still have something in them that's on my NO list. During the summer, my breadmaker does the job so I don't have to heat up the kitchen, although I prefer bread baked in the oven because of the shape of the loaf and it doesn't have that annoying hole in the last few slices! I do, however, buy a loaf every now and then, when I know I won't have time or just don't feel like making it. It's a nice treat (: I would like to get into a routine where I bake the week's worth of bread products one day, though, but haven't managed to make that work yet. I will have to try doing that in the winter, so when warmer weather comes, I'm into the routine. Thanks for the great idea!

Daphne Hope said...

New follower from Life's A Project. Thanks for the recipe!

LS said...

I'll try to answer all the questions here!

Foodie7,
I usually just save 2-3 loaves out and freeze the rest. I haven't had any trouble with the loaves getting too dry. I thaw a half-day before I need to use the frozen stuff. We can eat the 2-3 loaves I didn't freeze within a day or two, before it gets stale.

Amy,

I made the buns by rolling the dough out and cutting out circles with a round drinking glass. It worked great! You could also try round cookie cutters if you so desired.

Thanks for the tip Karri!

Daphne and King's Daughter,
Glad I could pass on a good recipe to you!

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