bakin bread=grip strength!!

[robmad]

well, hubby and i have recently decided to bite the bullet and begin to bake our own bread. we have been getting sick of store-bought bread with all the preservatives and added crap and we wanted something better for our family. yes, it is a lot of work, but boy is it worth it. i just wanted to post to encourage anyone thinking about it to do it---i have to say, kneading that dough for 10 minutes at a clip has greatly improved my grip strength in the gym! yet another plus! and we feel so good about making something healthy for the kids. just thought i would share my excitement!

[Rowyn]

Lol, that's funny!! I have recently delved a bit more into bread baking myself, but I mostly let my stand mixer knead it. Especially because I am hell bent on using various whole grains versus regular bread flour---that stuff is DENSE! I also started it to make healthier versions of bread for the family, though I do have access to a pretty good selection of organic and whole grain breads in this area of the country.

The kicker is that its ME and MY HUSBAND who love the bread, not so much the kids! I have never been much of a sandwich maker and we never have bread for dinner as a side as some people do, so they are not actually bread lovers. I make more healthy quick breads for them to have a decent breakfast/snack around than yeast breads.

I am about to give in and get a bread machine to do all the prep work though. Its so time consuming, especially with the whole grains! A friend of mine just uses the bread machine to make all the dough so that she doesn't have to catch it after the first rise and such, then she can leave and come home to bread that is ready to shape and bake.

[erinlee01]

We started this last year and there is nothing better than fresh baked bread! We have a bread maker. When you have a family, it's the only way to go! Just pop in the ingredients and let it do it's thing for a few hours while you do some of the million other things on your to-do list.

[kjake55]

With the cooler weather I've been feeling more domesticated lately and thought a couple of times about pulling my bread maker back out of the closet. No more excuses about how much room it takes up and all that stuff. Good Bread AND Grip Strength! I'm all-in :-) Thanks for the post.

[Rowyn]

We started this last year and there is nothing better than fresh baked bread! We have a bread maker. When you have a family, it's the only way to go! Just pop in the ingredients and let it do it's thing for a few hours while you do some of the million other things on your to-do list.

Erin, do you use your own recipes or do you have to follow the bread machine recipes?? My friend claims that she can just do her own recipes for the prep work but then she takes over after that. Just getting rid of the kneading/waiting thing would be a huge help! Last time I used a bread machine was way back when I first got married (wedding present, lol) and you had to use the mixes and well, it wasn't very good.

[andrerox80]

i eat ezekiel bread (store bought) and once came across a recipe i really wanted to make but never took the initiative and did it. my food prep is so, so time consuming as is, and i know if i tried it i'd never wanna go back. good on you guys for baking your own bread. bet it's awesome.

[bluefever]

I love making bread. I usually make 2 loaves at a time. I use a great clean eating recipe. Whole Wheat Flour, olive oil, honey, yeast and kosher salt.

[robmad]

i heard a bread machine does not produce as good a loaf as kneading? is this correct? i have never used one and the recipes i have found online say to knead it yourself. it is time-consuming, but i like it! we make two loaves at a time and i heard that you can freeze it already sliced and it defrosts quickly and tastes great. i have not tried this yet, but it might be more time efficient to make larger quantities. i am considering getting an electric mixer for mixing all the ingredients, though--we have already broken two wooden spoons!

[Rowyn]

i heard a bread machine does not produce as good a loaf as kneading? is this correct? i have never used one and the recipes i have found online say to knead it yourself. it is time-consuming, but i like it! we make two loaves at a time and i heard that you can freeze it already sliced and it defrosts quickly and tastes great. i have not tried this yet, but it might be more time efficient to make larger quantities. i am considering getting an electric mixer for mixing all the ingredients, though--we have already broken two wooden spoons!

Actually, the friends I have who use their bread machines swear by them. But I am also a whole grain baker, which is a little different. The hard part about the bread baking is not the kneading, its the waiting then shaping then waiting then baking. And if you are doing whole grains, you may also have a preferment and a rest BEFORE even getting to the kneading part.

I went on Amazon.com recently looking at bread machine reviews and people had alot to say about them, informative. You can also buy reusable bread bags and such there. Yes, you can slice and freeze, its the only way to go if you don't eat the whole loaf in a few days since they have no preservatives. Then you can also have a day or two to make more in bulk, versus baking so often. I am still in the learning process myself, bought salted butter by accident the other day and ruined a TON of work lol.

[erinlee01]

Erin, do you use your own recipes or do you have to follow the bread machine recipes?? My friend claims that she can just do her own recipes for the prep work but then she takes over after that. Just getting rid of the kneading/waiting thing would be a huge help! Last time I used a bread machine was way back when I first got married (wedding present, lol) and you had to use the mixes and well, it wasn't very good.

A little bit of both. There are a couple of recipes that just don't turn out right in the machine. For those, we just use the machine for the kneading/rising part and transfer to dough to a loaf pan and cook it in the over. We did get a bread machine cookbook and my husband will swap out flours or add something to it like flax seed.

My brother uses the mixes and they are still pretty gross!

[birdiefu]

Erin, do you use your own recipes or do you have to follow the bread machine recipes?? My friend claims that she can just do her own recipes for the prep work but then she takes over after that. Just getting rid of the kneading/waiting thing would be a huge help! Last time I used a bread machine was way back when I first got married (wedding present, lol) and you had to use the mixes and well, it wasn't very good.

I have this bread machine and *love* it!

http://www.amazon.com/Zojirushi-BB-C...p_ob_k_title_0

It can do all kinds of bread including whole grains, sourdough, gluten free, even non-bread recipes. Plus is it makes bread in a normal bread shape rather than the old-school vertical "mushroom", and if you take the paddles out after the last knead the holes in the bottom are negligible (great for sandwich bread, I make a loaf a week for my son). There are tons of recipes available online for it, too. I used to not be a fan of bread machines until I got this baby.

[Rowyn]

I have this bread machine and *love* it!

http://www.amazon.com/Zojirushi-BB-C...p_ob_k_title_0

It can do all kinds of bread including whole grains, sourdough, gluten free, even non-bread recipes. Plus is it makes bread in a normal bread shape rather than the old-school vertical "mushroom", and if you take the paddles out after the last knead the holes in the bottom are negligible (great for sandwich bread, I make a loaf a week for my son). There are tons of recipes available online for it, too. I used to not be a fan of bread machines until I got this baby.

THAT was exactly the one I was reading about! Good to know you like it. The negative reviews said its rather complex to program?

[birdiefu]

THAT was exactly the one I was reading about! Good to know you like it. The negative reviews said its rather complex to program?

There is a learning curve to it, but once you get the hang of things and learn all the fun stuff you can do with it, it's worth it!

[Rowyn]

There is a learning curve to it, but once you get the hang of things and learn all the fun stuff you can do with it, it's worth it!

Yeah, and lemme just see how much more CRAP I can cram into my kitchen, lol. I recently bought a real pizza peel with handle, two sets of small stones so that I can adjust the size of stone needed when making flatbreads, a new mixer, a bread box.....and THEN what about all the different flours/ingredients lol. However, I am sorely tempted, considering how much bread I have been baking these days.