DIY Bread Mix

Who doesn't love a slice of fresh bread?  Slather some summer jam on top and you are in for a treat!  I salivate over fresh bread as much as any other carb-loving human, but I have to do a bit of planning to make it happen.  I love making food from scratch, because (a) the food is often healthier, (b) it saves a lot of money, and (c) I love cooking by myself and with my men.

Fresh bread, homemade jam, and eggs from our laying ladies... my favorite breakfast.

We are so lucky to live in the greater Portland-metro area.  Not only because Portland, Oregon is gorgeous, but also because we live within twenty(ish) minutes from Bob's Red Mill and (if that wasn't enough) the Dave's Killer Bread Outlet is right across the street.  Apparently, Milwaukie, Oregon is the mecca of mouthwatering bread factories.  Who knew? 

In my dreamland, I would get out of bed before dawn to make my boys fresh bread for breakfast.  In reality, I'm not a morning person and I often forget the amount of prep time required to make a delicious carb-loaf.  On occasion, I buy bread from the Dave's Killer Bread Outlet and put it in the freezer.  But overall, I rarely buy bread from the store, because (a) it's too expensive and (b) too many carbs is, sadly, not the healthiest of life choices.

So, here's my problem:  I love bread.  My boys love bread.  I am too cheap to buy a nice quality loaf of bread, when I know it can be made for (much) less; however, even if I have the ingredients, I don't have the time.  As a result, we rarely eat bread.  That makes me sad and my boys left to just eat jam out of the jar.  (They would do this, if I let them.)

Here's my challenge:  Make a bread mix under $2.50/loaf using high-quality ingredients.  I will tackle this challenge with the Multigrain Bread recipe from the Bob's Red Mill Baking Book.

Buy a copy of Bob's Red Mill Baking Book from Powell's HERE.

 Multigrain Bread

Adapted from Bob's Red Mill Baking Book

1 1/2 C. unbleached white flour

1 1/2 C. graham flour

2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast

2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 C. warm water

1/4 C. molassas

1/4 C. honey

2 Tbs. vegetable oil

1/4 C. buckwheat flour

1/4 C. rye flour

1/4 C. soy flour

1/4 C. cornmeal

1/4 C. quick rolled oats

Melted unsalted butter, for brushing

Combine yeast, warm water, and other wet ingredients in bread machine.  Add dry ingredients.  Select proper wheat bread setting.  Let the machine do the work.  Enjoy in three hours.  Makes 1 Loaf

Shopping List

1 1/2 C. unbleached white flour*
1 1/2 C. graham flour (3 loaves per package, 2.19**/3 = .73 per loaf)
2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast*
2 tsp. salt*
1 1/2 C. warm water*
1/4 C. molassas*
1/4 C. honey*
2 Tbs. vegetable oil*
1/4 C. buckwheat flour (12 loaves per package, 4.19/12 = .35 per loaf)
1/4 C. rye flour (12 loaves per package, 3.49/12 = .29 per loaf)
1/4 C. soy flour (12 loaves per package, 4.07/12 = .34 per loaf)
1/4 C. cornmeal (12 loaves per package, 3.09/12 = .26 per loaf)
1/4 C. quick rolled oats (18 loaves per package, 10.45/18 = .58 per loaf)
Melted unsalted butter, for brushing

*I did not count all items into the cost, because some items are staples and I always have them in the house.
**Prices are based on Amazon.com listings.

Getting ready to assemble!

This bread takes a lot of different ingredients and I purchased everything from Bob's Red Mill.  Due to high quality ingredients, the cost tends to be a bit high.  Each loaf ended up costing about $2.55.  That's not too bad for a high quality loaf of bread!  So, I wouldn't call 5¢ over my goal a complete fail.  However, if you have to go out a buy flour, yeast, molasses, and the other "staple" ingredients needed to make this loaf, you may want to consider just buying a premixed bag of bread mix - the cost would be a toss up.

All together, I made twelve bags of bread mix.  I mixed all of the dry ingredients in a bowl (do not include the yeast) and used a funnel to pour the floury mix into quart-sized bags.  I printed the remaining instructions on shipping labels and stuck a label to each bag.  I made one loaf right away (I couldn't help myself) and put the rest in the freezer.  I should probably use them up within a year for ultimate freshness.

I put each batch in a quart-sized bag with a label.

Now that I have a freezer full of bread mix, I can pop a mix in the bread machine in no time at all.  That makes my life pretty easy (and delicious).  My next bread mission will consist of testing out a few different recipes, so we have some bread variety.  I see Honey Oat in the near future.

What is your favorite kind of bread?  Do you have any tips or tricks?  Do tell...

Until Next Time,
Leslie-Anne