The (lost) Art of Bread Making

  This morning I was sitting in the kitchen watching TV, flipping through channels, and looking for something good to watch.  As you probably have already assumed, from reading my blog, I love pretty much anything that involves baking.  So what did I find, you ask?  Why, "Baking with Julia" of course!  As always she had a moderately famous baker on her show,  this time from France.  He was making bread, something that everyone can picture in their head, but is it the same picture that it use to be?

  Isn't bread just something you can pick up from the grocery store? Well that's what many people think, but of course this is not true, is it?

  Bread is one of the oldest foods known to man, it was invented over 8,000 years ago.  It has been a staple food for over 5,000 years because it was simple to make and the ingredients didn't cost a lot of money.  Most people don't care about any of this, because they don't think about or understand how their food is made, or what it meant to people so many years ago. We live in such a fast-paced society that people don't have the time to think about these things, and why would they feel the need to anyway?

  There truly is a reason for people to think deeper about what they eat and how it is made.  Bread is made in such large quantities that it often spoils before it can be used.  To prevent this factories put all kinds of "preservatives", or chemicals that many people would not consider eatable, into their dough.  Do you really want to eat chemicals?  I know I don't!

 I think we can solve this problem by looking back in time, to the early 1900's.  This was a time when there were no big chain grocery stores.  Everything was one and only!  There were grocery stores, but they weren't chains.  They sold flour and yeast for people to go home and make their own bread!   Most people just rely on large grocery stores to have everything they need, but that isn't always the case.  If people made their own food more, they wouldn't have to worry about what goes into their food!

  Remember that making food from scratch is not weird or different.  It's smart, and a lot cheaper! ;)

Here is a recipe from scratch and one for a bread machine:

White Bread (from scratch)


Ingredients-


Flour- 5 1/2- 6 cups 
Sugar- 3 tbsp.
Yeast -1 pkg.
Water -1 1/2 cups
Milk-1/2 cup
Oleo (stick margarine) -3 tbsp.

Directions-                                                                       Bread Picture

- in a large bowl thoroughly mix 2 cups of flour, the sugar, salt, and undissolved yeast.
- combine water and oleo in sauce pan.
-heat on low until liquids are warm
- gradually add dry in ingredients and beat for 2 minutes at medium speed of an electric mixer, scraping the bowl
- Add 3/4 cup flour or more (add enough to make a soft dough)
- Put dough on a floured board
- knead until smooth (about 8-10 minutes)
- Place in creased bowl and grease top of dough
- cover and raise until dough doubles in size (for about 1 hour)
- shape into 2 loaves
- let raise again
- bake at 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes


(Bread Machine)Large Bread  Loaf  (much faster)


Ingredients-

Water- 1 1/8 cup
Bread Flour- 3 cups
Salt- 1 1/2 tsp.
Sugar- 3 tbsp.
Dry Milk- 1 1/2 tbsp.
Butter- 1 1/2 tbsp.
Dry Yeast- 2-2 1/4 tsp. (1 pkg.)


Directions-
- put all ingredients in bread machine
- set for a standard loaf of bread
- let the bread machine do it's thing
- in a few hours you will have a beautiful loaf of bread :)

My passion..

Cooking and baking have been a part of my life since I was about eight years old.  First my dad taught me how to make scrambled eggs.  I loved cooking so much I wanted to learn more about the art of it all.  I can remember when I was about nine or ten, my mom teaching me how to bake cookies, not the kind you just cut out of a tube of cookie dough, but from scratch.  I believe everything is better made from scratch, and if it is made with as many organic and real ingredients as possible.  Patience is the key to making something as good as it can be, and you have to love what you're doing in order to make everything come together.  

One thing that I truly hate about today's society is the fact that not many people really know how to cook.  Since almost everyone has a nine to five job, it is nearly impossible for them to cook a meal for their family.  If they do, it is usually something out of the freezer section in the grocery store.   Cooking and baking are  lost art forms.  In my opinion, it is quite sad.  

To me, baking is a passion, not a job.  This passion is something that will stay with me, for my whole life.  What you do with your life should be a passion, not something that you will regret doing everyday. Love what you do, because what you do is who you are.  It's what makes you who you are.   Remember that you can do what ever you want to, because you're original, and know one can replace you.