Homemade Bread in 10 minutes

an update from the Hodgepodge archives

How can you make homemade bread with 10 minutes of effort? First a little background. It’s been a while since I’ve poked fun at myself for being a bread-baking, homeschooling mama. I took photos of the steps for making bread several Saturdays ago.

See, there is a certain stereotype that exists in the homeschooling community. Apparently we fit that stereotype because we bake bread and homeschool. However, for the record, I do not wear a denim jumper. Haven’t since high school. I did love that jumper though.

It’s been seven years since I bit into that glorious loaf of homemade bread my cousin made. That’s all it took. That and a bit of coaching from her.

First we bought the wheat grinder, the barrels of wheat and the ingredients.

For three and a half years I made loaves of bread in my Kitchen Aid stand mixer, kneading the dough. Letting it rise. Pulling the dough out, shaping it in the loaf pans.

Letting it rise again. And then baking it in the oven.

Enter the glorious Zojirushi. My mother gave it to me for my birthday. She hunted and found it on eBay. Now the process goes a bit faster. Something like this…

Measure out your wheat. Pour into the top of the wheat grinder. Turn on the handy contraption and wait for the youngest child to come running. Even though it sounds like my grandfather’s pea sheller I used to run from as a child. Lil’ Buddy must be lifted up to watch the wheat go away down the little shaft.

Open the bucket and take in the glory of freshly ground wheat. Touch it and feel the warmth.

See the beautiful swirls.

Tear yourself away and turn your attention back to the well used and loved recipe.

Measure the olive oil from the industrial size container. Then, do not be surprised when children show up as you pull out the next ingredient.

Yes, Goldilocks loves Tupelo honey.

The real stuff. It’s good for you. Next, skip the egg since Lil’ Buddy is allergic. The bread turns out just as well.

Lecithin, gluten. Then Lil’ Buddy comes running again because it’s time to grind the flax seed.

Measure it in the top of the re-purposed coffee grinder.

It turns out so pretty too.

All along, you’ve been adding the ingredients to the great and powerful Zojirushi. Now, dig a little well and pour in the yeast.

Click around to the homemade setting. In about two and a half hours you’ll have gorgeous and delicious bread. I make it most every Saturday morning as I’m cleaning up breakfast dishes. I timed it – 10 minutes. Even with lifting the littlest one up to see the process.

We have sandwich glory on Saturdays.

Sometimes we just eat it with butter and honey. Sometimes with pimento cheese. Or Sunbutter® and black-raspberry jelly.

Busy weeks I only make bread on Saturdays. Other weeks the children like to get involved. For a while it was a service opportunity. We need to get back into that.

What I make:

• Bread loaves
• Our favorite Flax Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies with freshly ground soft, white wheat. I double the recipe and mix some up about every two weeks. Freeze the dough balls so we can have cookies any time. Or make some to give away.
• We feast on whole wheat pancakes one weeknight. With a side of turkey bacon.
• Pizza dough. Easy to double and freeze.
• An extra loaf. Every now and then it’s good to freeze one.
• French bread.
• multitudes of muffins.
• Two Step Pound Cake. My favorite recipe is delicious with freshly ground wheat!

Yes, it is an investment to get started. We also had help from a grandparent 🙂 We viewed it as groceries. We also took steps. Now we plan our purchases around the homeschool convention. Sometimes we share trips with friends up to the Bread Beckers store.

How can you make homemade bread with 10 minutes of effort? Part of it is practice. Part of it is the bread machine. And part is where I store my supplies.

With homeschool conventions coming up, maybe you are considering making your own bread.

Resources:

• The Bread of Idleness CD ***FREE*** A 90 minute audio CD by Sue Becker. Recorded at a presentation in 1998, Sue presents the Biblical, nutritional, and health reasons why it is so important to use FRESHLY GROUND FLOURS for making bread.
• Getting Started
• Zojirushi Bread Recipe (what I use)

Next up – how to you store all those enormous barrels?

She looketh well to the ways of her household and eateth not the bread of idleness. Proverbs 31:27

Do you make your own bread? Or what is your favorite use for your bread maker?