Yum, homemade bread!

On Friday I baked six loaves of Amish Friendship bread :-)  Yum!  Unfortunately with all the baking and cleaning up from the baking, I didn't think to snap a picture, but since I have four more loaves to make, I will be sure to take a picture.

On Monday I made two loaves of white bread.  Fresh out of the oven, I sliced a few slices and my older daughter and I ate it warm.  It was wonderful.  Making bread takes time, time we don't always have.  I don't own a bread machine and I have no desire to own one.  Both the girls took a turn kneading the bread, which was like a novelty to them.  I wonder if children of the 30's enjoyed kneading the bread or if they considered it a chore.  Since the bread recipe I'm using requires fourteen hours to rise, I need to start the bread the night before and bake the following day, I have one daughter who needs bread in her school lunch, and I make hubby a sandwich every day as well.  Slicing freshly baked bread isn't easy, hubby says my slices are too thick.  Currently I'm getting about fourteen slices per loaf.  With about eight slices a day being used and a recipe making twenty-four slices, in just three days the bread is gone!  My plan is to start the bread every third night and if there isn't enough for lunches on baking day, pack them leftovers.

It is cheaper and easier to buy bread, so why make it?

There is something simple and beautiful about taking care of my family.  Baking bread makes the house smell wonderful, no need for those plug-ins here!  It gives me time with my daughters to laugh and "play" with dough while we take turns kneading.  I know exactly what is in my bread, no HFCS or preservatives.  Nothing can compare to eating a warm slice of good bread fresh out of the oven.  It has also changed my mind-set.  There was time, if I didn't have a can of rolls in the fridge, we wouldn't have rolls, now I just them myself.  Today is my older daughter's 15th birthday!  Happy birthday!  I do not have a box of cake mix, I briefly thought of going to the store, but then I realized that I can make one from scratch!

Right now I don't think there is anything more important than taking care of my family and loving and serving God.  Does it take extra time to do things this way?  Yes, but every single second is time well spent.

Recipe for the Amish Friendship bread is found here: http://ourroadtosimplicity.blogspot.com/2010/09/amish-friendship-bread.html







Note added - bread freezes very well, I just put a piece of a wax paper between each slice, I put it in the fridge overnight and by lunch time it is ready for my family to eat!