I’m a pretty busy person. I’m a full-time graduate student and teaching assistant. I’m trying to get my house ready to sell, and planning for a major move almost across the country. I sometimes use jarred marinara sauce, and there is a Kashi frozen pizza in my freezer.
However, with some exceptions, the one thing I try not to compromise on is home baked bread.
Some reasons why.
- It is insanely easy. Seriously, the deliciousness to effort ratio (and that really should be something that is measured) is off the charts. Seriously, as baking goes it is pretty simple to do.
- Related to Number 1, it makes you feel accomplished. Opening the oven and removing something that looks like the $6 artisan loaf you can get at the fancy grocery store or bakery, is pretty damn amazing. I bake a lot, and I can’t guarantee I will have that experience when I make cookies or bake a cake, etc.
- It is love. I cook a lot, but nothing makes me feel like I am nourishing myself and my family than a fresh baked loaf. My husband eats a peanut butter and jelly sandwich everyday for lunch, and that is pretty generic, and it makes me feel good knowing that I helped make it super special.
I started baking bread regularly a few years ago after finding a piece of store bought sandwich bread that was way past its prime in the back of my fridge. There was no mold. Natural things should decay. I don’t want to eat anything that bacteria won’t eat!
Some downsides.
- It takes some time. Most bread recipes, especially those I started with, took a long time — overnight in fact.
- It takes planning – see above. Not only the time it takes to make it, but making sure that you plan it for when you are out – this is a problem in my house as I said above, my husband eats a peanut butter and jelly sandwich every day for lunch.
- It is so delicious you will eat tons of bread, which will completely mess up your planning. In fact, I just realized we were out of the bread I baked for this post!
While some of my favorite breads do take a long time to make (and these will be featured on the site), I’m always trying to figure out ways to shorten the time when I’m short on it. I often make a whole wheat quick bread that is good with butter or PB&J but doesn’t suit all bread needs. Not perfect, but it takes less than 45 minutes.
However, this week I had some chickpeas lying around and I wanted to make some hummus, and I really wanted a white crusty bread. I typically riff off Mark Bittman’s No Knead Bread, but I haven’t been able to make it take less than 6-8 hours, but I tried to quicken it up for finals.
I was Googling around and found this No-Time Bread from my friends at The Kitchn. Check it out, so easy to make even during finals!
Check it out and enjoy!
{ 0 comments }