I had heard them all. All the discouraging but well-meant things about making bread at home, having to wait and let dough rise, flour everywhere, needing a dough hook and a stand mixer, and getting better than a good workout.
"Baking is difficult." "Baking is tricky." "Ooh, baking bread, you really gotta know what you're doing!"
This kept me away, which is unusual. The more esoteric a process and its arcane methods, the better by me. At some point in the last couple years, I REALLY got tired of paying too much for a loaf of decent bread. Stores sell a lot of good-looking breads, and especially so, in their store bakeries. How many times have you been all amped-up for a gorgeous sandwich you made at home on one of these breads? You're thinking, "I don't need to go to a restaurant. I could be a chef! Just look at this thing!" The lettuce is bright green and offset by gleaming orange cheese and a blistering red tomato slice. The savory juiciness of the charcuterie reflects the kitchen light.
.
"Baking is difficult." "Baking is tricky." "Ooh, baking bread, you really gotta know what you're doing!"
This kept me away, which is unusual. The more esoteric a process and its arcane methods, the better by me. At some point in the last couple years, I REALLY got tired of paying too much for a loaf of decent bread. Stores sell a lot of good-looking breads, and especially so, in their store bakeries. How many times have you been all amped-up for a gorgeous sandwich you made at home on one of these breads? You're thinking, "I don't need to go to a restaurant. I could be a chef! Just look at this thing!" The lettuce is bright green and offset by gleaming orange cheese and a blistering red tomato slice. The savory juiciness of the charcuterie reflects the kitchen light.
. Nothing else matters except this moment of truth... and you take a bite. You chew carefully and wait for the expansion of flavors to combine and deliver you and your creation to some kind of nirvana. But the bread is just, uh, there, its only flavor coming from whatever salt and I think, sesame seed, is sprinkled on the crust. The doughy middle's texture is coarse and stiff. You work through the first bite slowly, thinking your fillings will spread their flavor impact and bring the whole sandwich together and save this meal from ruin. Your next bite lets you down even lower... this bread is like one of those furniture store TV props. It looks so real and convincing, until you press a button and realize it's made of cardboard.
A while back, I had started a weight-loss and fitness pursuit, and I tried to eliminate white flour from my diet. Greatly tried. Flour, like sugar, is ever-present in nearly any processed or manufactured food. "Processed food" is made to sound like you're eating melted Velveeta over Hamburger Helper using Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, but sadly, just about anything not in the produce, dairy, or dry grain sections of a grocery store now fits that description. I was initially incredibly diligent trying to avoid flour. In my quest, instead of multigrain and wheat breads, I bought sprouted-grains or gluten-free breads. I would tide by on soft corn tortillas until the bread was on sale again, which could be weeks away. I had enough of that.
Home bread machines had became a popular thing. People were turning out sandwich breads, heavenly cinnamon rolls for breakfast, hearty multigrain loaves -- all kinds of breads that could put a dent in a local bakery's business. The machines were mid-grade to best-in-class. And finally one year, I realized I had not heard anyone say much about them in a while. They're still available for retail purchase, but fantastic deals can be had on lightly-used, dust-gathering machines on sites like Nextdoor or at second-hand shops.
I got pretty lucky and located one such Sunbeam, ironically from another runner who was also giving up bread. I say also because I had cut out bread at first. But being real... I'm not running any ultras, and I like sandwiches because they're economical, relatively healthy, and effective meals. Pragmatism FTW.
A while back, I had started a weight-loss and fitness pursuit, and I tried to eliminate white flour from my diet. Greatly tried. Flour, like sugar, is ever-present in nearly any processed or manufactured food. "Processed food" is made to sound like you're eating melted Velveeta over Hamburger Helper using Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, but sadly, just about anything not in the produce, dairy, or dry grain sections of a grocery store now fits that description. I was initially incredibly diligent trying to avoid flour. In my quest, instead of multigrain and wheat breads, I bought sprouted-grains or gluten-free breads. I would tide by on soft corn tortillas until the bread was on sale again, which could be weeks away. I had enough of that.
Home bread machines had became a popular thing. People were turning out sandwich breads, heavenly cinnamon rolls for breakfast, hearty multigrain loaves -- all kinds of breads that could put a dent in a local bakery's business. The machines were mid-grade to best-in-class. And finally one year, I realized I had not heard anyone say much about them in a while. They're still available for retail purchase, but fantastic deals can be had on lightly-used, dust-gathering machines on sites like Nextdoor or at second-hand shops.
I got pretty lucky and located one such Sunbeam, ironically from another runner who was also giving up bread. I say also because I had cut out bread at first. But being real... I'm not running any ultras, and I like sandwiches because they're economical, relatively healthy, and effective meals. Pragmatism FTW.
Nothing beats the convenience of loading up a bread machine and pressing go. Okay, I know I am giving up a little authenticity and falling victim to the American love of shortcutism, but do you know what it's like to work bread dough by hand? Also, the amount of space and clean up that goes into the process? It's not terribly overwhelming, though at the same time, it's a lot more than I'm (sadly) willing to do. So I compromise a little. And I notice little in the way of impacts to quality. The shape, mostly. The machine pan is tall to accommodate all the different modes it runs. This machine is really great, though, It can do things like make jam and dough, in addition to a variety of bread styles.
To be continued in Part II...
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