Fan of Carbs? Try Baking Bread, It Will Reduce Your Grocery Bill

Baking bread yourself can sound like a daunting task, but I’m here to let you know all the fantastic benefits that come with it! I know what you’re thinking, Why would I bake my own bread when I can just grab a loaf at the store? Excellent question and I know it seems like a hassle, but after you make your own loaf you’ll be hooked!

Trust me when I say that your favorite part about baking bread will be the smells. There’s something truly special about that mixture of aromas that fill your kitchen when the dough is in the oven. And then, there’s the taste.

But, before I ruin all the fun of baking bread for yourself, let me give you 7 amazing reasons why baking bread is the way to go when you’ve got an appetite for carbs! Plus, I’ve got the easiest bread recipe at the end so you can start today!

1. Saves You Money

It shouldn’t be a surprise to learn that baking bread at home rather than buying at the store saves you money. A lot of money, depending on what kind of loaf you’re used to purchasing. I’m not sure of the exact numbers, but this recipe can save you around 40 to 60 cents per loaf.

This also depends on how you get your ingredients; in bulk or on sale. Just goes to show how a little work can make a big difference, and when it comes to your money, why not save?

2. Homemade Bread is Healthier

When you’re baking bread from scratch, you know every single ingredient that goes into making it, and their source. Baking bread yourself means you can avoid GMO’s, chemical additives, unhealthy fats like hydrogenated oils, and sugary sweeteners.

It goes to show time and time again that if you want to eat healthier, the best choice is always cooking the food yourself. It’s almost a guarantee that you’re only getting what you want, and - more importantly - what you need.

3. Better Taste & Smell

Maybe this is because it’s your bread, but I think baking bread yourself brings the ultimate taste to the loaf of carbs. There’s no real contest with this one.

The aroma of homemade bread is captivating. Have you ever walked into a bakery right as they get out the fresh bread? Now, imagine that smell filling your entire house. I know, it does sound heavenly. Start baking bread now and that dream can be yours.

4. It Looks Impressive

Friends, family, neighbors, and anyone else that comes into your home will be beyond impressed! I know wanting other people to like you isn’t important, but when you’re impressed with your own cooking, now that’s important!

You don’t need to bake bread to impress other people, but - believe me - they will be impressed, so you’ll have to deal with not only being a fantastic baker, but also you need to deal with a lot of new friends! Not the worst things to have to deal with.

5. Bread Can Be Made In Many Ways

If, for some reason or another your power goes out, you can take the simple recipe below and use it a variety of ways. A camp stove works fine, or a closed grill cooks bread well. Who knew bread didn’t actually need to be “baked” in the traditional way? Talk about the ultimate in comfort food.

6. This Recipe Doesn’t Require Kneading Dough

You don’t need (get it?) to knead the dough with this recipe. Simply stir up your big batch of dough, set it in the fridge for up to two weeks, and then - whenever you need some sweet carbohydrates - you can take out whatever size blob you need. Bake it up and you’ve got your own little loaf of bread; nice and fresh!

7. Easy Customization

Who’s with me on this: my favorite thing about simple recipes is they’re so easily customizable! You can fix up a basic recipe however you want once you’ve mastered the simplicity. There are so many ways to recreate the recipe below into wonderful artisan breads!

Artisan Bread In Five Steps

This recipe comes from BackDoorSurvival. This simple recipe makes four 1 pound loaves of delicious bread. 5 ingredients. 5 steps. Let’s do this!

Ingredients:

• 3 cups lukewarm water (about 100 degress)
• 1-1/2 tablespoons granulated yeast (about 1-1/2 packets)
• 1-1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
• 6-1/2 cups unsifted, unbleached flour, measured with the scoop & sweep method
• Cornmeal for pizza peel or parchment paper

Step-By-Step

1. In a large bowl or plastic container, mix yeast and salt into 3 cups lukewarm water (about 100 degrees). Stir in flour, mixing until there are no dry patches. The creator of this recipe uses a Danish dough whisk to mix things up but you can use a spoon or even a stand mixer or food processor.
2. Bake at this point or refrigerate, covered, for as long as two weeks. When ready to bake, sprinkle a little flour on dough and cut off a grapefruit-size piece with serrated knife. Turn dough in hands to lightly stretch surface, creating a rounded top and a lumpy bottom.
3. Put dough on pizza peel sprinkled with cornmeal; let rest 40 minutes or up to 90 minutes. Repeat with the remaining dough or refrigerate it.  (Or skip the peel and use parchment paper on a baking sheet.)
4. Place a broiler pan on bottom of oven. Place baking stone on middle rack and turn oven to 450 degrees; heat a baking stone at that temperature for 20 minutes. Or, if you don’t have a baking stone, use a cast iron skillet or even a greased baking sheet.
5. Dust dough with flour, slash top with serrated or very sharp knife three times. Slide onto stone. Pour one cup hot water into broiler pan and shut oven quickly to trap steam. Bake until well browned, about 30 minutes. Cool completely.