# Bread homemade or store bought?



## fairygirl69 (Apr 8, 2013)

Ever since a friend gave me her mother's kitchen aid stand mixer I have discovered a love for baking my own bread.  We now just make our own bread instead of buying it bc we prefer the texture and taste.  But I have heard that there are those people who prefer store bread.  Where do you fall?


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## Andy M. (Apr 8, 2013)

I don't make a lot of bread other than bagels for my breakfast.  It's not a matter of liking store bought bread more than homemade.  I haven't taken the time to get into baking consistently good breads.  I did buy a bread cookbook!


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## FrankZ (Apr 8, 2013)

fairygirl69 said:


> Ever since a friend gave me her mother's kitchen aid stand mixer I have discovered a love for baking my own bread.  We now just make our own bread instead of buying it bc we prefer the texture and taste.  But I have heard that there are those people who prefer store bread.  Where do you fall?



When I have time I  bake our bread.  Baking bread paid for the mixer.




Andy M. said:


> I don't make a lot of bread other than bagels for my breakfast.  It's not a matter of liking store bought bread more than homemade.  I haven't taken the time to get into baking consistently good breads.  I did buy a bread cookbook!



Andy, if you lean that cookbook really really close to the mixer it will bake the bread for you, as long as you don't get it wet in the...errmm.. sink.


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## pacanis (Apr 8, 2013)

More reading material for the uhh, storage closet


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## CWS4322 (Apr 8, 2013)

I never buy bread--haven''t for years. I use my bread machine to make the dough (or my stand mixer). I much prefer to make my own. I do not, however, eat a lot of bread. I have adapted my grandmother's bread recipes to make the dough in the bread machine and find the texture and taste are the same as when I don't use the bread machine. For someone with arthritis in the hands/wrists, a bread machine or stand mixer is much easier on the body than kneading by hand. I never bake the bread in the bread machine.


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## pacanis (Apr 8, 2013)

I eat a lot of bread and I've found it easier to simply buy it as needed. I can get whatever variety I want that way and be eating it for dinner that night.
I did go through a phase of making my own for quite a while, but I've gone through a lot of phases. Now the mood has to strike me right to make my own french bread or sandwich bread.


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## Andy M. (Apr 8, 2013)

FrankZ said:


> ...Andy, if you lean that cookbook really really close to the mixer it will bake the bread for you, as long as you don't get it wet in the...errmm.. sink.




I guess I'll never live that down!


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## fairygirl69 (Apr 8, 2013)

People just laugh and roll their eyes when they hear we only eat homemade bread at our house lol.  But I find it calms me and I get a sense of accomplishment from it.


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## Katie H (Apr 8, 2013)

I haven't purchased commercially-produced bread products in more years than I can count.  I've always made all our bread goods.  Just made a big batch of Kaiser rolls to put in the freezer.

I've been making my own bread for so long that I've streamlined the process so I can make several different types in one morning.

As someone else already mentioned, I use a bread machine for the kneading and first rise.  Good old "arthur" has seized my hands, so hand-kneading is out of the question.

I've had my bread machine since 1999 and I have yet to bake any bread in it.


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## CharlieD (Apr 8, 2013)

Recently I started to make some breads. But i am far from perfection, I do not have enough time ususally, so I try to ake when I can, and when I cannot I buy it from the store, but the bakery we buy from is most exelent one.


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## fairygirl69 (Apr 8, 2013)

Recently my specialty is something I call Carp Lake sourdough bread. It's named after the cottage my husband's family has near Mackinaw Michigan.  The last time we went there for vacation,  I made a special sourdough starter in that cottage and that is the secret ingredient in the bread.  My in laws LOVE it!


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## CraigC (Apr 8, 2013)

We make a lot of dough with our KA, but most of it isn't bread dough! We've ground more meat and stuffed more sausage with the mixer than bread dough.


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## fairygirl69 (Apr 8, 2013)

Ain't nothing wrong with that.  During the summer I'll grind meat for the best hamburgers and I'll be smoking homemade sausages this summer.  Mmmmm mmmmm!


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## jabbur (Apr 8, 2013)

The only dough I make is pizza dough.  I've tried making my own bread and had mixed results.  Not having someone to show me and allow me to feel how the dough should be after kneading, I find I tend to overdo it and come out with rock hard bread or I don't let it rise enough or something.  I had a bread machine for a while and that was good but it was taking up too much counter space in my old kitchen for the amount of use it got.  Out it went.  I buy my bread.  Sometimes it's just the regular old white sandwich but I like having some rye and whole wheat and sourdough on hand as well.


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## MrsLMB (Apr 8, 2013)

I love baking my own bread and DH *loves* eating it .. therein lies the problem.  So I only make it once in a while.  He eats less bread if it's store bought.


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## Aunt Bea (Apr 8, 2013)

I have not had any bread since I started dieting but, I do enjoy making my own bread, rolls and pizza dough.

I really enjoy making bread during a blizzard!

The smell of baking bread helps makes a house a home.


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## Steve Kroll (Apr 8, 2013)

We eat almost entirely homemade bread. It used to be 100%, but recently I had an injury which curtailed my bread making for several weeks. So we started buying occasional loaves of peasant bread from a nearby Italian deli. I have to say that it's very good, although more expensive than the homemade stuff.

I'm now back to making bread once every couple weeks.

I do most of it in the food processor. I've got it down to the point where I can throw the dough together in about 5 minutes. With the no-knead recipe I use, I just leave it sit on the countertop until the following evening, at which time it goes in the oven.


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## jharris (Apr 8, 2013)

Store bought artisan loaves

I have no time to bake.


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## fairygirl69 (Apr 9, 2013)

I ought to try making peasant bread.


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## Cooking Goddess (Apr 9, 2013)

I'll make bread in the cold weather.  I, too, have found the bread machine good for its "dough" setting but not so good for a finished product.  When I take it out of the tub I'll give it a few pats and cuddles, then let it do its second rise on the counter.

Had an artisan bread bakery two towns over but they closed a couple years ago.  We have a local grocery store that makes some nice sturdy breads, but now they're opening a Panera's just a couple miles from our home.  If they do one thing right it IS bread!


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## fairygirl69 (Apr 9, 2013)

Ahhh, there's something about the feel of a well made ball of bread dough.  I too used my bread machine all the time before getting my lovely stand mixer.  Now I just use the Kitchen aid bc I like to see how it all comes together.  Well, that and my bread machine took a dive for the floor and consequently doesn't work as well now.


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## CWS4322 (Apr 9, 2013)

jabbur said:


> The only dough I make is pizza dough.  I've tried making my own bread and had mixed results.  Not having someone to show me and allow me to feel how the dough should be after kneading, I find I tend to overdo it and come out with rock hard bread or I don't let it rise enough or something.  I had a bread machine for a while and that was good but it was taking up too much counter space in my old kitchen for the amount of use it got.  Out it went.  I buy my bread.  Sometimes it's just the regular old white sandwich but I like having some rye and whole wheat and sourdough on hand as well.


My grandma taught me how to make bread when I was 9 years old, right after she taught me how to make pie crust. There is a "feel" to both and I'm glad she taught me both. After bread and pie crust, she taught me how to make lefse. All three are things I know I can make and have turn out. My brother tried making lefse once--it was like shoe leather.

I have rarely had bread not turn out. When I was in high school, I traded making cinnamon rolls (48 every Saturday and Sunday morning) for ski passes. People were standing in line waiting for me to arrive with the rolls. Because I don't eat bread very often, I tend to use the bread machine for pita dough. I keep the bread machine in the basement (along other things I don't use every day). Bonus--when I want to make bread, I get extra exercise because I have to go down and up a flight of stairs first.


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## Snip 13 (Apr 9, 2013)

Depends on what I'm using it for. I like sliced bought bread for work and school lunches,they stay fresher for longer and I homemade bread for home use 

We've got a very good bakery so I can buy great breads too but I do like making my own sometimes.


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## chopper (Apr 9, 2013)

Aunt Bea said:


> I have not had any bread since I started dieting but, I do enjoy making my own bread, rolls and pizza dough.
> 
> I really enjoy making bread during a blizzard!
> 
> The smell of baking bread helps makes a house a home.



I'm in the middle of a blizzard right now and would love to bake some bread, but I cannot go there yet on this diet.  I will stick with the crust less, sugar less, pumpkin pie that is making my house smell great!

I love to make home made bread.  It just taste so much better than store bought.  We do buy bread when I don't have time to make it.  Lately I have been buying it because it is easier for me to leave it alone that way.


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## BetsyB (Apr 9, 2013)

Store bought bread is JUNK, full of crap. My dad has perfected his bread. You'd be amazed what 15 or 20 years of perfecting his bread tastes like; without the high sugar, salt, preservatives of store breads. The flavor is AMAZING. People keep telling him he'd make millions selling it.


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## pacanis (Apr 9, 2013)

BetsyB said:


> Store bought bread is JUNK, full of crap. My dad has perfected his bread. You'd be amazed what 15 or 20 years of perfecting his bread tastes like; without the high sugar, salt, preservatives of store breads. The flavor is AMAZING. People keep telling him he'd make millions selling it.


 
That _is _AMAZING. Especially since so many people consider sugar and salt a pleasant flavor.


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## chopper (Apr 9, 2013)

pacanis said:


> That _is _AMAZING. Especially since so many people consider sugar and salt a pleasant flavor.


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## Chef Munky (Apr 9, 2013)

FrankZ said:


> When I have time I  bake our bread.  Baking bread paid for the mixer.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Awww, poor Andy.

Will you ever live that incident seat up or down?


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## Zagut (Apr 9, 2013)

I love to bake bread but buying it from the store is just so much easier.

Time is a large factor.

I've been experimenting with pizza dough but I don't think I'll ever find the dough I want.

Maybe if I figure out my oven set up I'll get there.


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## Cooking Goddess (Apr 9, 2013)

BetsyB said:


> Store bought bread is JUNK, full of crap. My dad has perfected his bread. You'd be amazed what 15 or 20 years of perfecting his bread tastes like; without the high sugar, salt, preservatives of store breads. The flavor is AMAZING. People keep telling him he'd make millions selling it.



Betsy, IMO it depends on where in the store you're picking the bread up from.  The bread aisle with commercially made fluffy stuff?  OK, I'll agree with you.  But our local grocery store makes quite a few in-store types with ingredient labels that read like my own bread recipes at home.  I rarely find time to make homemade bread (and when I do make it the danged loaf evaporates the same day!) so when our neighboring town's artisanal bread bakery closed I was on a mission to find good store bread.  Hubby wonders why it takes me so long to shop - I tell him ya gotta read the labels!


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## PrincessFiona60 (Apr 10, 2013)

Cooking Goddess said:


> Betsy, IMO it depends on where in the store you're picking the bread up from.  The bread aisle with commercially made fluffy stuff?  OK, I'll agree with you.  But our local grocery store makes quite a few in-store types with ingredient labels that read like my own bread recipes at home.  I rarely find time to make homemade bread (and when I do make it the danged loaf evaporates the same day!) so when our neighboring town's artisanal bread bakery closed I was on a mission to find good store bread.  Hubby wonders why it takes me so long to shop - *I tell him ya gotta read the labels!*



On every single thing in the store.  I dodged a bullet the other day, picked up Kirkland Marinara Sauce and spaced on reading the label.  Luckily, no HFCS, quite tasty!


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## desertwillow (Apr 10, 2013)

I've never actually had homemade bread, so I can't say (no one I know makes it and I don't have the inclination). 

I like the Nature's Own 14 grain bread. I'm not a fan most breads that aren't heavy on the grains.


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## BetsyB (Apr 10, 2013)

pacanis said:


> That _is _AMAZING. Especially since so many people consider sugar and salt a pleasant flavor.


 
True, but too much of a good thing....you know what they say.... store bought breads have like 4 or 5 grams of sugar per slice and we get use to that flavor. That is ridiculous, that's a teaspoon of sugar in one thin slice! It's not a dessert. My dad uses a tablepoon for the entire loaf and 1.5 teaspoon salt for the whole loaf, but trust me, you don't miss it, it doesn't taste bland the way in which he bakes it and the ingredients he uses. Store bought is loaded with so much salt and sugar to taste good and preserve it amongst all the other un-pronouncable preservatives yuck. Daves Killer bread tastes decent with all the seeds and all, then I read the ingredients and think, yep, multi millionaire Dave is killing us with his bread!

One thing about my dads bread though is the next day it's not the same. It goes from sheer perfection down to just good. Then the day after that, we make another and the rest goes to the birds. Super short shelf life is the trade off, thus cannot really be sold.


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## BetsyB (Apr 10, 2013)

Cooking Goddess said:


> Betsy, IMO it depends on where in the store you're picking the bread up from. The bread aisle with commercially made fluffy stuff? OK, I'll agree with you. But our local grocery store makes quite a few in-store types with ingredient labels that read like my own bread recipes at home. I rarely find time to make homemade bread (and when I do make it the danged loaf evaporates the same day!) so when our neighboring town's artisanal bread bakery closed I was on a mission to find good store bread. Hubby wonders why it takes me so long to shop - I tell him ya gotta read the labels!


 
I completely agree cooking goddess, there are exceptions, but not in the regular bread aisle. Buying fresh from the bakery helps a lot. It's true, it takes time. My dad is quick but only because he's done it so long.


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## chopper (Apr 10, 2013)

BetsyB said:


> I completely agree cooking goddess, there are exceptions, but not in the regular bread aisle. Buying fresh from the bakery helps a lot. It's true, it takes time. My dad is quick but only because he's done it so long.



Is your dad willing to share the recipe?...


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## CharlieD (Apr 11, 2013)

chopper said:


> Is your dad willing to share the recipe?...



I second the request


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## BetsyB (Apr 12, 2013)

I don't know chopper, you laughed when someone else kinda made fun of me. But sure I will ask him this weekend when I visit & let you guys know 

But 3 things you should know:

1. If you don't have time for putting ingredients in a bread maker and letting IT do all the work, you likely won't have time for this because his bread is made mostly in the oven, the bread maker is a small part of the process, he does it daily. 

2. Even the bread coming solely out of a bread maker without the added work of the oven, is still better than store bought in flavor and ingredients you choose. I actually think that *some* store bought taste good, though not like his of course, but not worth it to me as I get enough preservatives and junk from other food. I can't afford to eat organic for instance, so like many, I eat GMO's, pesticides, hormones etc... While I have amazing bread, I don't have access to other healthy foods that are more important. 

3. Like with anything else, if it takes too good, it's almost impossible not to overeat the bread. It smells up their entire house. The crispy outside, soft warm inside. I have gained weight as a result and my body doesn't need so much bread anyway. Still, I'd be depressed as heck if I became gluten intolerant.


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## Kylie1969 (Apr 12, 2013)

We did own a bread machine at one time and used to make lots of bread, but now we like to go to an Italian bakery up the road and buy their crusty continentals and ciabatta's etc


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## BetsyB (Apr 12, 2013)

Kylie1969 said:


> We did own a bread machine at one time and used to make lots of bread, but now we like to go to an Italian bakery up the road and buy their crusty continentals and ciabatta's etc



You're right. We all got sick of the bread machine bread over time. It was good, but everyday for years is too much. So my had began making other  varieties including baguettes. Their not just different shape, totally different flavor. You can make ciabbatas as well by making the dough in the machine and then cooking it in the oven.

I googled baguette and bread machine and got a bunch of recipes that look like his, which involve the oven as well as the bread maker. I don't remember his exact recipe and it's changed, but these recipes look quite familiar as far as the ingredients and perhaps the actual baking portion too. The end result is also similar looking, don't know about the flavor.


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## desertwillow (Apr 12, 2013)

I think it's important to point out that not all store bought bread is unhealthy.

Nature's Own 100% whole wheat has no artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives, and no HFCS. It also tastes far better than any other bread I've bought, including fresh from the bakery. It doesn't have a long shelf life, likely due to the no preservatives.

Yes, it has sugar, but only 2g. They do make a sugar-free bread as well. Considering the DV for added sugar is 24-36 grams, a sandwich with store bought bread is hardly something to concern myself with.

Homemade doesn't always automatically equal healthier. I've seen plenty of "home cooked" things that would give me a coronary if I ate it lol.


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## BetsyB (Apr 12, 2013)

desertwillow said:


> I think it's important to point out that not all store bought bread is unhealthy.
> 
> Nature's Own 100% whole wheat has no artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives, and no HFCS. It also tastes far better than any other bread I've bought, including fresh from the bakery. It doesn't have a long shelf life, likely due to the no preservatives.
> 
> ...



It's hard in my area to find brands that don't have many additives and when you do, at say, whole foods, their super expensive. That's what I meant up above when I said I can't buy all organic stuff, economics is always a factor. If we could as easily grow our own veggies and fruits we would. Bread though is easy. As far as unhealthy home made breads, well you choose how to make it and what to put in, you are the boss. What others put in doesn't have to be what you put in. No need to read a label that may or may not be accurate, you know what you've put in and catered to *your* needs.


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## desertwillow (Apr 12, 2013)

BetsyB said:


> It's hard in my area to find brands that don't have many additives and when you do, at say, whole foods, their super expensive. That's what I meant up above when I said I can't buy all organic stuff, economics is always a factor. If we could as easily grow our own veggies and fruits we would. Bread though is easy. As far as unhealthy home made breads, well you choose how to make it and what to put in, you are the boss. What others put in doesn't have to be what you put in. No need to read a label that may or may not be accurate, you know what you've put in and catered to *your* needs.



Nature's Own is sold in pretty much every store I've ever been in. I pay like $2.50/loaf. 

I don't understand your label comment - are you implying commercial bread makers are lying about their ingredient list and we shouldn't trust them? 

My needs are a loaf of cheap, healthy bread that'll last about two weeks, that I can buy with my regular trip to Walmart. Baking bread would take time I don't have.


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## CharlieD (Apr 12, 2013)

Nature's Own is just way too healthy for me. I think they take word "nature" to extreme and use saw dust insted of flour, brrrr. Nothing personal, my DW also like s their products.


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## desertwillow (Apr 12, 2013)

CharlieD said:


> Nature's Own is just way too healthy for me. I think they take word "nature" to extreme and use saw dust insted of flour, brrrr. Nothing personal, my DW also like s their products.



Lol. Yeah. Honestly it took some getting use to for me, and I don't like all their types of bread. I use to buy the Sara Lee potato bread before I realized I needed more fiber. I also don't like super soft bread, so breads with lots of nuts and grains baked in have a better texture to me, so then I actually eat it. 

I still buy potato bread hot dog buns though. Those are just flat out yummy.


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## BetsyB (Apr 12, 2013)

desertwillow said:


> Nature's Own is sold in pretty much every store I've ever been in. I pay like $2.50/loaf.
> 
> I don't understand your label comment - are you implying commercial bread makers are lying about their ingredient list and we shouldn't trust them?
> 
> My needs are a loaf of cheap, healthy bread that'll last about two weeks, that I can buy with my regular trip to Walmart. Baking bread would take time I don't have.



I wasn't telling you specifically to make your own bread lol. This thread is not about you or me, but shared experiences and advice by many. You take from it what you want, you don't have to take it all, or any of it. We all have the right to share you know....

It takes 5 minutes to put it in the bread maker if you're not using the oven method too, the bread maker does it for you. Less time than a trip to the store as long as you have the few ingredients it requires which most people do for baking anyway.

Please don't put words in my mouth, I never said anyone was lying. I just said one knows with 100% certainty what their putting in. Though yes, there are cases out there where labels were not correct for whatever reason, though I assume not most. 

Not sure why the defensiveness and why getting on the offense either. If someones advice does not suit me, I don't take it, simple. No harm.


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## Cooking Goddess (Apr 12, 2013)

I'll stock up on the breads I like when they are at a good price.  I prefer whole loaf over sliced since it has less surface exposed to air.  I'll cut the loaves in half (or thirds, in the case of bread from Panera) and double bag each chunk before I freeze it.  Bread stays decent for a month or two, edible after that.  I try to never not have a supply of bread in the house because my Dad delivered bread for a living and it's just part of my DNA.


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## pacanis (Apr 12, 2013)

BetsyB said:


> *Store bought bread is JUNK, full of crap*. My dad has perfected his bread. You'd be amazed what 15 or 20 years of perfecting his bread tastes like; without the high sugar, salt, preservatives of store breads. The flavor is AMAZING. People keep telling him he'd make millions selling it.


 


BetsyB said:


> I wasn't telling you specifically to make your own bread lol. This thread is not about you or me, but shared experiences and advice by many. You take from it what you want, you don't have to take it all, or any of it. We all have the right to share you know....
> 
> It takes 5 minutes to put it in the bread maker if you're not using the oven method too, the bread maker does it for you. Less time than a trip to the store as long as you have the few ingredients it requires which most people do for baking anyway.
> 
> ...


 
From what I've observed on cooking forums, when someone comes in and uses words like junk and crap to describe the foods others eat, or that were fed to them as a child, people tend to get a little defensive or strike back.
It's not just you though, try talking about brats, hot dogs (processed meats) or especially Kraft grated cheese in the green tube or their mac and cheese and you'll get the same results... often followed up with a few 
People tend to take on the tone of the thread.


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## CWS4322 (Apr 12, 2013)

I'm a member of the bread tribe. I love bread, especially dark breads. However, I also know that bread packs on the pounds, so I don't eat a lot of it. And, with a bread machine, making bread takes a lot less energy than doing dishes or cleaning the bathroom. I will be making pitas this weekend to take on my road trip next week. I will make bread when I'm visiting my folks (and pizza dough and tortillas). My grandma made all her own bread--I don't recall ever seeing a store-bought hotdog bun, hamburger bun, or any kind of bread in her house. She did buy WONDERFUL orange rolls from the local bakery, but otherwise, the smell that greeted you when you walked into her house was the smell of homemade bread. I have her handwritten cookbook--it smells like her kitchen. It has been 41 years this May since she passed away. I personally can't  be bothered to drive to the store or bakery to buy bread. But, I generally work from home so am not "out there" every day. Going to the store or bakery is more effort than hauling out the bread machine.


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## pacanis (Apr 12, 2013)

That's a good point, CW. You seem to run a very self-sufficient homestead, so if you don't have to leave to pick up an item here and there until you need to, good for you.


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## desertwillow (Apr 12, 2013)

"BetsyB said:


> Please don't put words in my mouth, I never said anyone was lying. I just said one knows with 100% certainty what their putting in. Though yes, there are cases out there where labels were not correct for whatever reason, though I assume not most.



Asking for clarification by saying, "it seems you're saying this, is that right?" is rather the opposite of putting words in your mouth.

As to ingredients and honesty in labeling, you'd have to be able to track the *individual ingredients* of everything to know for sure what you're eating, and the only way to do that is avoiding stores altogether and buying only local ingredients you can personally verify. There's not many people these days that get to do that (I'd love to be able to say most of my food came from my own hard work vs what little I CAN currently grow).


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## fairygirl69 (Apr 12, 2013)

I just make bread bc I enjoy doing so and I have a limited food budget.  I find that the more I make from scratch the better off I am and my blood sugar levels show it (I'm a diabetic).  It's also something that I do well and it makes my family happy.  For example,  I make sourdough bread from my own homemade sourdough starter.  Bc I was so successful,  I also made another sourdough starter at  my husband's family cottage in Michigan (the water and air change the flavor of the starter).  I call it my Carp Lake sourdough bread.  My in laws LOVED it!  And I enjoy doing these things for people I love.


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## desertwillow (Apr 12, 2013)

fairygirl69 said:


> I just make bread bc I enjoy doing so and I have a limited food budget.  I find that the more I make from scratch the better off I am and my blood sugar levels show it (I'm a diabetic).  It's also something that I do well and it makes my family happy.  For example,  I make sourdough bread from my own homemade sourdough starter.  Bc I was so successful,  I also made another sourdough starter at  my husband's family cottage in Michigan (the water and air change the flavor of the starter).  I call it my Carp Lake sourdough bread.  My in laws LOVED it!  And I enjoy doing these things for people I love.



My boyfriend and I have talked about getting a bread maker later on (along with a mixer as neither of us own one, since we don't bake *anything* - I always tell people I'm a cook, not a baker lol). 

I do think it'd be beat to make specialty bread like you're referring to. Something to break up the same-ol-same. Especially rye. Mmm. Warm rye with butter.

Note to self: Buy rye bread.


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## fairygirl69 (Apr 12, 2013)

desertwillow said:


> My boyfriend and I have talked about getting a bread maker later on (along with a mixer as neither of us own one, since we don't bake *anything* - I always tell people I'm a cook, not a baker lol).
> 
> I do think it'd be beat to make specialty bread like you're referring to. Something to break up the same-ol-same. Especially rye. Mmm. Warm rye with butter.
> 
> Note to self: Buy rye bread.



Actually,  I'm making a rye sourdough starter so I can make the rye sourdough bread in The Bread Baker's Apprentice cookbook.  It's a comprehensive book about some serious bread baking.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Apr 12, 2013)

fairygirl69 said:


> I just make bread bc I enjoy doing so and I have a limited food budget.  I find that the more I make from scratch the better off I am and my blood sugar levels show it (I'm a diabetic).  It's also something that I do well and it makes my family happy.  For example,  I make sourdough bread from my own homemade sourdough starter.  Bc I was so successful,  I also made another sourdough starter at  my husband's family cottage in Michigan (the water and air change the flavor of the starter).  I call it my Carp Lake sourdough bread.  My in laws LOVED it!  And I enjoy doing these things for people I love.



I have a wonderful Montana Sourdough, her name is Audrey II (as in "Feed me Seymour." from _Little Shop of Horrors_)


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## fairygirl69 (Apr 12, 2013)

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I have a wonderful Montana Sourdough, her name is Audrey II (as in "Feed me Seymour." from Little Shop of Horrors)



My sourdough starters names are Gossimer (after the big red hairy monster in some Loony Tunres cartoons) and Perry bc the region it's named after which is Carp Lake is also called Paradise Lake.  The Rye starter I'm working on will probably be called Ryan lol.


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## Dawgluver (Apr 12, 2013)

fairygirl69 said:


> my sourdough starters names are gossimer (after the big red hairy monster in some loony tunres cartoons) and perry bc the region it's named after which is carp lake is also called paradise lake.  The rye starter i'm working on will probably be called ryan lol.







Loved Gossimer.



And Audrey II


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## Kylie1969 (Apr 12, 2013)

desertwillow said:


> Note to self: Buy rye bread.



We love rye bread, so good for you too


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## PrincessFiona60 (Apr 12, 2013)

Dawgluver said:


> View attachment 17680
> 
> Loved Gossimer.
> 
> ...



Yup, that's Audrey II...she gets quite snarly when she is hungry.


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## Bolas De Fraile (Apr 13, 2013)

fairygirl69 said:


> I just make bread bc I enjoy doing so and I have a limited food budget.  I find that the more I make from scratch the better off I am and my blood sugar levels show it (I'm a diabetic).  It's also something that I do well and it makes my family happy.  For example,  I make sourdough bread from my own homemade sourdough starter.  Bc I was so successful,  I also made another sourdough starter at  my husband's family cottage in Michigan (the water and air change the flavor of the starter).  I call it my Carp Lake sourdough bread.  My in laws LOVED it!  And I enjoy doing these things for people I love.


when I read posts like this it renews my faith in humanity......thank you.


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## Soma (Apr 13, 2013)

because of heart attack and surgery, I now have to eat a low-salt, low fat diet, so I make my own bread to control the fat and salt amounts. It's really easy to do the no-knead bread, letting it rise overnight and baking next morning. Love that rustic bread!

but I do prefer store-bought rye bread for some reason. They get the texture soooooo right.


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## fairygirl69 (Apr 13, 2013)

Bolas De Fraile said:


> when I read posts like this it renews my faith in humanity......thank you.



Awe thank you,  you're so sweet!


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## Sprout (Apr 17, 2013)

I prefer home-made bread for everything except basic, soft whole-wheat sandwich bread. I just haven't mastered a soft wheat bread yet. I'm currently playing with different combinations of flour though and have bought wheat and a grinder to make my own flour, so I'm playing with hard white and hard red. I'm hopeful that I'll figure out a good sandwich loaf soon.  I also haven't played much with multi-grain. Costco here carries a hearty-yet-moist multi-grain bread that is divine. I guess that will be the next task after the wheat sandwich loaf.


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## FrankZ (Apr 17, 2013)

Sprout said:


> I just haven't mastered a soft wheat bread yet.



Tis a secret how to do it.


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## Sprout (Apr 19, 2013)

FrankZ said:


> Tis a secret how to do it.



Secret secrets are no fun. Secret secrets hurt someone.  <-that's not neutral like it says when you roll your cursor over it. It's my stern face. It's very intimidating.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Apr 19, 2013)

Sprout said:


> Secret secrets are no fun. Secret secrets hurt someone.  <-that's not neutral like it says when you roll your cursor over it. It's my stern face. It's very intimidating.



If you are not careful, Frank, she will put her hands on her hips.  I think she means it, better give over.


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## cjmmytunes (Apr 21, 2013)

fairygirl69 said:


> I just make bread bc I enjoy doing so and I have a limited food budget.  I find that the more I make from scratch the better off I am and my blood sugar levels show it (I'm a diabetic).  It's also something that I do well and it makes my family happy.  For example,  I make sourdough bread from my own homemade sourdough starter.  Bc I was so successful,  I also made another sourdough starter at  my husband's family cottage in Michigan (the water and air change the flavor of the starter).  I call it my Carp Lake sourdough bread.  My in laws LOVED it!  And I enjoy doing these things for people I love.



I've always wanted to learn how to make sourdough bread.  I don't have a recipe, though.  I'm also diabetic.  Does making bread from scratch really help keep the sugar levels more stable?  If it does, I'd be willing to try it.


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## FrankZ (Apr 22, 2013)

cjmmytunes said:


> I've always wanted to learn how to make sourdough bread.  I don't have a recipe, though.  I'm also diabetic.  Does making bread from scratch really help keep the sugar levels more stable?  If it does, I'd be willing to try it.



Give a look at Sourdoughhome - An Exploration of Sourdough

Making bread let's you control what's in it, so indirectly yes, it will help with sugar levels.


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## fairygirl69 (Apr 22, 2013)

FrankZ said:


> Give a look at Sourdoughhome - An Exploration of Sourdough
> 
> Making bread let's you control what's in it, so indirectly yes, it will help with sugar levels.



That's pretty much what I was going to say!  Just trying to find the way to word it.  Also if you like YouTube go to the Noreen's Kitchen channel (atticus9799) go to her playlists and look for  How To Sourdough.  She has a really great method on  how to make a starter.  Every time I've used her method (3 times).  It's worked for me.


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## Addie (Apr 22, 2013)

PrincessFiona60 said:


> If you are not careful, Frank, she will put her hands on her hips. I think she means it, better give over.


 
  Worse yet, she will call you by your first and middle names. Then you will know she means business. And if she adds that last name? Well I hate to even think about that!


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## justplainbill (Apr 22, 2013)

In the summertime I generally resort to store bought.  In cooler weather  I prefer to bake my own.  To my taste some bakeries can produce loaves  that are as good as or better than mine but I do not know of any such  bakeries within 50+ miles of me.


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## FrankZ (Apr 22, 2013)

Sprout said:


> Secret secrets are no fun. Secret secrets hurt someone.  <-that's not neutral like it says when you roll your cursor over it. It's my stern face. It's very intimidating.



Sorry I missed this.

I don't know the secret, cause well, it is a secret.


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## frenchguycooking (Apr 25, 2013)

We eat bread all the time around here... For breakfast, for lunch and for dinner ! 
So you'll have to make a lot of it if you want it to last a bit. 
Maybe we became lazy because of all the bakeries you can find.


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## fairygirl69 (Apr 25, 2013)

frenchguycooking said:


> We eat bread all the time around here... For breakfast, for lunch and for dinner !
> So you'll have to make a lot of it if you want it to last a bit.
> Maybe we became lazy because of all the bakeries you can find.



I wouldn't call you lazy.  Not everyone's into baking bread like I am.


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## CharlieD (Apr 25, 2013)

If I live in Paris, I probably would neve bake my bread either.


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## cjmmytunes (Apr 26, 2013)

FrankZ said:


> Give a look at Sourdoughhome - An Exploration of Sourdough
> 
> Making bread let's you control what's in it, so indirectly yes, it will help with sugar levels.



Thank you for the link - have it saved so I can look at it later tonight.


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## cjmmytunes (Apr 26, 2013)

fairygirl69 said:


> That's pretty much what I was going to say!  Just trying to find the way to word it.  Also if you like YouTube go to the Noreen's Kitchen channel (atticus9799) go to her playlists and look for  How To Sourdough.  She has a really great method on  how to make a starter.  Every time I've used her method (3 times).  It's worked for me.



Fairygirl, thanks for the recommendation.  Have her searched and bookmarked for later.  Getting some music for my mom right now - from the late, great George Jones.  Seems strange to say that.

Forgive my verve into an off-topic subject.


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