11 December 2008

Homemade bread

Following up my last post, my cousin Gillian had asked if it was cheaper to make our own bread. I thought I'd copy my reply here.

Is it cheaper to make your own bread? It depends on what the ingredients cost where you are.

Over here the cheapest loaf we can buy is the Tesco Value loaf which was 30p but has gone up to 45p in the last two months.

1.5kg of strong white bread flour (Tesco brand) is 48p and I can get just about four loaves out of it. Even when you factor in the water, oil, yeast, salt and sugar it still works out a lot cheaper to make our own. (And a lot tastier!)

But the best part is that the above is the entire ingredients list (flour, water, oil, salt, sugar, yeast). Compare with the ingredients list from the Tesco Value loaf:

Wheat Flour, Water, Yeast, Salt, Vinegar, Vegetable Oil, Soya Flour, Emulsifiers (Mono- and Di-Acetyltartaric Esters of Mono- and Di-Glycerides of Fatty Acids, Mono and Di-Glycerides of Fatty Acids), Flour Treatment Agent (Ascorbic Acid), contains Wheat Fibre.

And other breads (because let's face it, the value loaf isn't very nice):

Warburtons: Wheat Flour, Water, Yeast, Salt, Vegetable Oil, Soya Flour, Emulsifiers E481, E472e, Preservative Calcium Propionate (added to inhibit mould growth), Flour Treatment Agents Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), E920

My boys react badly to E numbers so I try to avoid them. I certainly don't want them in my bread!

Hovis: Wheat Flour, Water, Yeast, Salt, Soya Flour, Vegetable Fat, Fermented Wheat Flour, Emulsifiers: E472e, E471, Flour Treatment Agent: Ascorbic Acid

Not too bad since ascorbic acid is vitamin C, but again with the E numbers.

Kingsmill: Wheat Flour, Water, Yeast, Salt, Vinegar, Soya Flour, Fermented Wheat Starch, Vegetable Oil, Emulsifiers: E471, E472e, Flour Treatment Agent: Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C)

So along with being a lot cheaper it's a lot more natural.

With a larger family you might find yourself making a loaf a day, or two loaves a day if you use the recipe I posted. It makes a loaf that lasts us a day or two but there are only four of us and only one on a packed lunch. But when it's the breadmaker doing all of the work it's no trouble to do a couple of loaves a day. And you can set it to the dough cycle, use the dough to make rolls, let them rise somewhere warm (covered) until doubled in size and then bake in your oven.

Give it a whirl! And while your breadmaker is out try the cinnamon rolls so I'm not the only one scarfing them like a little piggie!!!


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