# I'm tired of commercial bread



## Phil (Jul 23, 2009)

I've been watching bread rise.... to the tune of $3.89 a loaf. And when you buy the store brand it's tasteless and gummy. I don't like thick sliced bread, and when I started buying Peppridge Farms thin sliced bread, it jumped to almost four dollars. I don't eat sandwiches that often and end up tossing a half loaf of wasted, stale bread. Then one day I picked up a loaf of sour dough from the store's bakery. I'm hooked. Not only can you slice it the way you want, it's loaded with flavor. I've been slicing off a couple of pieces and slathering them with butter and toasting them in a frying pan. Sandwiches are suddenly much more interesting. I can slice it thicker for garlic bread. An inch thick for croutons and it lasts over two weeks in the fridge. When it gets a little too stale I use it for bread crumbs. And, it's a buck fifty a loaf. This is the best thing I've found since, well, sliced bread.


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## LadyCook61 (Jul 23, 2009)

You can make your own .


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## Arky (Jul 23, 2009)

I'm with you! I'm fortunate that there are two sources for freshly baked artisan bread at a reasonable price ($2.50 or less for a large loaf). We have a Mennonite bakery just down the street, and our Wal-Mart also carries artisan loafs that are very good. Of course, I will also tackle baking bread about once a month, but I have to be in the mood. For bread about to go bad, I make tasty "Easy Make - No Burn Croutons" and keep them either in the refrigerator or I freeze them.


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## Phil (Jul 23, 2009)

LadyCook61 said:


> You can make your own .


Did I throw that soft ball slow enough?


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## GB (Jul 23, 2009)

Check out this thread on the NY Times no kneed bread. It will change your bread eating life.


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## Chef Munky (Jul 23, 2009)

Phil,
You might like this book: Artisan Bread In Five Minutes A Day.
The author's of the book Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois have an additional book coming out in October.Amazon has it on sale for $18.45.
I've tried almost every recipe in the book..The Master's Recipe alone makes 4-1 lb artisan bread loaves.
Wait until you have a panini sammich with that bread.Better yet bruschetta's!
It's pretty good.

Munky.


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## bourbon (Jul 23, 2009)

GB said:


> Check out this thread on the NY Times no kneed bread. It will change your bread eating life.




I whole heartily agree. After moving south, I couldn't find any good bakeries 
(things New Englanders take for granted) And now whenever I'm in the mood for a good crusty loaf it's as good as done.


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## jet (Jul 23, 2009)

Chef Munky said:


> Phil,
> You might like this book: Artisan Bread In Five Minutes A Day.
> The author's of the book Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois have an additional book coming out in October.Amazon has it on sale for $18.45.
> I've tried almost every recipe in the book..The Master's Recipe alone makes 4-1 lb artisan bread loaves.
> ...



Does that work well for you?  I've never had much luck with their recipes.


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## LadyCook61 (Jul 23, 2009)

jet said:


> Does that work well for you? I've never had much luck with their recipes.


 I use the recipes from the book too, it works well for me .


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## Chef Munky (Jul 24, 2009)

Jet,
The first few loaves didn't turn out that well for me.
It was just a matter of learning how to work with wet dough.
Now it's not a problem at all.
I'm still learning from that book.Eating well as I do it 

Munky.


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## subfuscpersona (Jul 31, 2009)

*That's a good price for bakery bread but...*

...I still like to bake my own. 

Four years ago I vowed I would learn to make artisan bread. 

At first my bread turned out like this






I persisted. Now my bread turns out like this...








It's fun having an edible hobby.


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## subfuscpersona (Aug 25, 2009)

*eighty five cents ...*

That's what it costs me to buy the ingredients for a one-pound hearth bread with about 20% organic whole grain flour and a some organic honey. Bakery cost for an equivalent loaf is $3.50 to $4.00

I buy retail and live in NYC, so my costs are probably higher than many other areas in the US.

Labor costs? For me, baking bread is a labor of love. Can't cost out love.


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## subfuscpersona (Aug 25, 2009)

*fifty seven cents*

Sorry all - my previous post was incorrect. In my earlier post I said my ingredients cost was for a one-pound loaf, but actually it was for a 1&1/2 pound loaf.


			
				subfuscpersona on 8-25-2009 at 09:24 AM  said:
			
		

> That's what it costs me to buy the ingredients for a *one-pound* hearth bread with about 20% organic whole grain flour and a some organic honey.



For a *one-pound loaf*, my cost for ingredients is 57 cents.

Bakery cost for an equivalent *one pound* loaf is $3.50 to $4.00

I tried to edit my prior post but apparently this is no longer allowed.


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## GrillingFool (Aug 25, 2009)

What's the "shelf life" of these breads?


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## Chef Munky (Aug 25, 2009)

GrillingFool said:


> What's the "shelf life" of these breads?



Shelf life I would think depends on how you store it after wards.
I keep all artisan breads out in the open,covered lightly with a towel.


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## GrillingFool (Aug 25, 2009)

OK, and how long do they last that way?


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## subfuscpersona (Aug 25, 2009)

*re shelf life*

@GrillingFool - what do you mean by shelf life? I hate to be difficult, but its hard to answer your question. Shelf life can simply mean how long the bread will last without developing mold (bad!) or it can mean how the bread tastes as it ages and loses some moisture. I'm going to assume you mean the later.

*BRIEF RESPONSE*
For the one-pound breads I pictured, stored at room temperature in a paper bag, 2-3 days.   In contrast, if I purchase a similar bread from a high-end bakery, the shelf life is 1-2 days under the same storage conditions.

*EXTENDED RESPONSE*
I showed photos of two breads - both were hearth breads, shaped freeform and baked on a flat surface. The one on the left was sourdough and the one on the right was made with a biga preferment. Otherwise the formulae were quite similar.

Once the loaf has cooled and after it has been cut, I store these _one pound_ loaves in a brown paper bag, cut side down, on my kitchen counter. (I don't live in an area with high humidity and my kitchen is not air-conditioned.) I don't refrigerate bread as that hastens moisture loss (actually, what is happening is not really moisture loss but I'm not prepared to give the scientific explanation and maybe you don't care anyway).

In my (most humble) opinion, both loaves have a shelf life of about 3 days given the above storage conditions. If I go to day 4, the sourdough loaf tastes slightly better.

Note that both loaves contain a small amount of honey, which is hydroscopic (which simply means that honey helps maintain moisture).

Note that both loaves are hearth breads, not sandwich breads. Hearth breads are baked freeform on a flat surface at a high heat (about 450F). Sandwich breads are baked in a loaf tin at lower heat (about 350F). With a similar recipe, the hearth bread releases more of the water during baking and will therefore "stale" more quickly than the sandwich bread. Sandwich breads, depending on recipe, have a shelf life of 4-5 days (stored at room temperature in a paper bag).

If you're aiming to extend the shelf life of homemade bread, look for recipes that include a small amount of fat (oil or butter) or a small amount of full-fat soy flour. Both of these additions help keep the interior of the bread soft but do also result in a less crispy crust.

Pretty much all basic breads - hearth or sandwich - can be successfully frozen. Let them cool completely, double wrap in plastic wrap, label and freeze.

Besides freezing, there are lots of subtle ways one can vary a bread recipe to help it keep at room temperature a little longer. However, as I'm sure you know, supermarket-variety breads contain many additives specifically designed to keep the loaf soft for a week or more, even when stored in a refrigerator.

Hope this helped a little bit. - SF


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## Chef Munky (Aug 25, 2009)

GrillingFool said:


> OK, and how long do they last that way?



I can't give you a straight up answer.Artisan loaves in my house are usually gone by that night.It's rare to have a loaf around the next day.


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## jet (Aug 25, 2009)

I keep my bread in plastic, in the refrigerator  which is the one thing all of the experts tell you not to do.  

I live alone and use bread mostly for sandwiches.  It takes my a week to go through a loaf of bread.  Stored "properly", it goes bad in 2 days.  Stored "improperly", it's good for a week.  Quality declines in the refrigerator, but it's still better than commercial.  The only time I store bread on the counter is to make pain perdu (i.e. French Toast).


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## apple*tart (Aug 25, 2009)

Another ABin5 fan here. I cannot wait for the second book to come out (it's literally on my calendar!).  I love everything I've made in their first book, but I try to eat whole grain breads day to day.  The second book is supposed to focus more on healthier breads with whole grains.


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## Scotch (Aug 25, 2009)

No need to let bread go stale or dry out or get moldy -- it freezes quite well. Just pull off the slices you need at the moment, carefully defrost them in the microwave or toaster, and you won't know the difference. If you buy whole loaves and like to serve big chunks to go with soups or stews, etc., cut the loaf into chunks and freeze them in a good zippered plastic bag. Beats the heck out of stale or moldy bread, and it allows you to keep several varieties on hand.


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## Selkie (Aug 25, 2009)

Stored in a paper bag on the counter, 2 days before going stale. The third day you should plan on French Toast.

In plastic in the refrigerator, unless you're freezing it, you'll lose your crust - it will turn soft, but still be usable for up to 3 days, and becomes bird food on the morning of the 4th day.


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## shalinee (Aug 26, 2009)

Making bread is easy which I have just found out. It is superb, unbeatable. The texture and flavour is so good. The first one that I did was nan, an Indian bread which I made to go with tandoori chicken. I didn't bake or grill it but just panfry it. It was so good & goes great with the tandoori chicken. Check it out how I did it at Keep Learning Keep Smiling » Tandoori Chicken And Nan

Cheers,
shalinee
________________________
http://www.keeplearningkeepsmiling.com


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## shalinee (Aug 26, 2009)

The second one that I did was just a couple of days ago, a very healthy version, a seeded bread. The flavour was really good. I made a very nice avocado cheese sandwich with it. It's really easy to make. I'll not buy bread again. Check it out at Keep Learning Keep Smiling » Best Healthy Avocado Sandwich


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## papahassan17 (Aug 26, 2009)

*Why not make your own?*

hmm why not try to bake your own bread?
I make use of the recipes that i have learned from my mom's book..
You can add fruit juice and walnuts to make your bread's flavor more interesting  ...I always love to use concentrated apple juice...Make sure not to forget fresh eggs


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## stinemates (Dec 8, 2009)

subfuscpersona said:


> ...I still like to bake my own.
> 
> Four years ago I vowed I would learn to make artisan bread.
> 
> ...



Those are beautiful


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## tinlizzie (Dec 9, 2009)

Apart from baking Irish Soda Bread on St. Paddy's Day -- no yeast needed -- my most recent attempt at 'real' bread was a healthful recipe using whole grains and added gluten.  I felt very virtuous (and healthy) eating the dense slices, even shared the second loaf with my DS and D-in-L, who very practically used theirs for a door stop.   

Those inspirational photos already posted have led me to copy the New York No-Knead recipe to give it another try.


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## stinemates (Dec 9, 2009)

I made this last night. Artisan Bread: Boule | The Urban Spork

It's amazing.


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## CharlieD (Dec 9, 2009)

I did not know people still buy store bread.


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## x7anooonah (Dec 26, 2009)

I love to bake bread and since moving over seas well the bread here is horrid compared to what your getting. Pita bread is what everyone eats here so the load bread is always hard regardless. I make my own white bread and its amazing. I also like knowing what goes into my food.


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