YEAST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a366/3gs4me/bread.jpg

Have you ever had a task or skill that you avoided like the plague or that you could never seem to master. Well, up until this week breadmaking and I were arch enemies. My frugal side won out though and forced me to delve into this pastime again after seeing that it was going to cost me over $10 to buy naan for a party and I could easily make it for about $2. The naan was successful and was actually raved about by our company so that gave me enough courage to try real bread today.

The bread is an unbleached white bread with oatmeal, maple syrup, and sunflower seeds in it. I want to eventually make a whole grain bread but wanted to start with white flour since it is easier to be successful with. The bread got rave reviews for dinner tonight (still warm spread with raw honey and organic peanut butter). The kids like it so much that they even ate the crust:drop:

So, this is a huge thing for me since I have been avoiding mastering this my whole married life and I just needed to share with someone since most of my family would think I was nutso for putting effort into something you could buy at the store for $1.49:rolleyes:

On the frugal standpoint it cost me about $3.25 to make the two loaves of bread and I usually pay $4 a loaf for the type of bread that we buy. The kids will not eat the crust on the expensive bread so about 1/3 of what I buy goes to waste so making bread like this probably saves me about $5 for each two loaves I make.

That looks SO yummy!!

What is naan?

it is kinda like pita bread... but not really lol but a flat bread from india very tasty... wanna share your naan recipe?

naan is sweeter and softer than most pita in my opinion. It is great with baba ghanouj (sp) or hummus on it and we are going to try it as mini pizza crusts when we have for extra kiddos stay the night on Sunday (seven kids 7 and under:help: )

The naan recipe I used is from all-recipes. It was such a hit that we went through 28 pita sized pieces with only 9 of us eating the other night:drop:

Our gas grill was out of gas so I cooked these in a dry electric skillet and they still browned and bubbled. I also forgot to brush them with butter and they were still great. This recipe is 4.5 stars with over 290 ratings!

Naan - Allrecipes (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Naan/Detail.aspx)

Great job!

May all your loaves be so lovely!!!!

Cool, I was just looking at this VERY recipe the other day... glad to know it worked well for you.

And no, it isn't really like pita... I meant it in more of a flat, ethnic bread kind of way. LOL At the indian restaurant we get garlic naan and i think they do one with potatoes and peas... really good!

YUUM! Great job!! :)

mmmm - i hate making bread!:lol: but i love to eat it!

Congratulations,:balloons: I was intimidated for years to make bread as well. Now we all only like to eat mine.

I find spelt easier to work with than wheat, but it is different than wheat as well, so there is a slight learning curve with it. It also makes such nice soft bread.

Just remember failed loaves of dough(the dough is just not rising)...can be made into pizza crust, bread sticks.
Failed loaves of bread (you know the ones that come out like a brick)can be made into croutons or bread crumbs:)

Linda, spelt is what I use for everything else and is what I would like my bread to be made from. If you have a good spelt bread recipe I would love it if you would share it with me :)

Congratulations,:balloons: I was intimidated for years to make bread as well. Now we all only like to eat mine.

I find spelt easier to work with than wheat, but it is different than wheat as well, so there is a slight learning curve with it. It also makes such nice soft bread.

Just remember failed loaves of dough(the dough is just not rising)...can be made into pizza crust, bread sticks.
Failed loaves of bread (you know the ones that come out like a brick)can be made into croutons or bread crumbs:)

this is the reason i don't make bread but i always endedup chucking it in the garbage~itr never even occured to me to make pizza crusts or croutons! when it cools down i'll give it another shot.

Yummm!!! :) Good for you!

You know, when I was pregnant with Rory, I got into the habit of making bread. I got quite good and it was so yummy. I really should try again.

Looks great Bobbi!

Yumm, I love fresh warm bread with lots of butter!

Linda, spelt is what I use for everything else and is what I would like my bread to be made from. If you have a good spelt bread recipe I would love it if you would share it with me :)

I hesitated to post my recipe, because for me it has depended on the type of flour(different in New Zealand form the States...WHY I DON"T KNOW!!!) and the weather.

But, here is a basic recipe that I love..and if you are making it with a kitchen Aid mixer(IIRC, you have one) then it is easy.

3 1/2 cups spelt (or 3 cups spelt, 1/2 cup oats)
2 Tbsp gluten
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp yeast
1-2 tbsp vegetable oil or butter
1 1/4 cup water (slightly warmer than skin temp on inside of wrist...)
(1-2 tbsp sugar , honey sucanat... optional I rarely add it)

I love spelt bread. It is so soft and yummy.

I just usually start with the wet stuff, then add flour until I have a nice pliable dough. Here in NZ I need less moisture, I think because of the humidity plus the type of flours. less/more protein ...I have never figured it out or researched it.
Spelt bread dough is a little bit wetter than wheat dough. It can be a bit wetter without actually sticking than wheat dough can be. It is so nice to work with.

The oil/fat in my experience adds to the longevity of the bread. it does not dry out as quickly in two days...

I make this into rolls as well. If I do that I make 8 rolls, and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. If bread, 350 for 60 mins. I am baking rolls right now:) I love that they cook in 20 minutes. dh LOVES this recipe. You can add poppy seeds or any seeds for texture. The variation with the oats is great too.

HTH! LMK if you have nay questions..:)