Homemade Bread: Your First Step to Sustainability!

I think one of the best things in the world is homemade bread. I love making it. Baking it. Smelling it. Tasting it fresh out of the oven! Here on our little homestead, homemade bread has become a staple. Baking your own bread is one of the best places to start on a “going-green” journey. In baking your own bread, you are not only guaranteed that the ingredients are wholesome, but when healthy bread at the store costs nearly $5.00 a loaf, baking your own makes good economic sense. It’s also another way not to have to rely on the grocery store so much. A goal we are trying to achieve as urban homesteaders.

I make about 2 loaves every week. I have one recipe I use religiously. It’s easy. The ingredients are simple and easy to find. It’s practically fool proof. However, I do understand that there are many people out there who are nervous about trying to bake bread. Which is the reason I recommend this particular bread recipe to first time bread bakers. AND which is also why I am going to explain my method for baking bread here, step by step, so many of you will feel encouraged to at least give it a try!

Before I begin with the recipe particulars, I want to encourage anyone who wants to try baking bread to get your ingredients locally, if you don’t already grow your own. Yeast is obviously one of those things you can get anywhere and locally produced yeast is not something of which I’ve ever heard. Using a name brand yeast is a good idea because you know it comes from a good source. As for flour, going to your local food co-op, or farmer’s market to buy locally grown and milled flour is a wonderful way to support local growers. If you don’t have either of those places, a Whole Foods type store is adequate or you can purchase organic flours now at many large grocery store chains. Make sure your whole wheat is 100% and organically grown. Never buy bleached flour. You can use bread flour if the recipe calls for it, but the recipe I use calls for just regular, unbleached white flour. Honey is another ingredient in some breads that is better local. Honey produced in your area not only supports the local economy, but it contains all the natural antibodies for your area! Since they pollinate the plants around you, seasonal allergies may be prevented. And we all know that honey is just great for anything that ails you. As an ingredient in bread, honey provides a better sweetening substitute for sugar. I won’t go into the evils of white sugar here!

This bread recipe originally came from a cookbook I bought in college called “The Best of Mennonite Fellowship Meals” by Phyllis Pellman Good and Louise Stoltzfus, published by Good Books of Pennsylvania.

I have added my own tips in parenthese. All measurements are in American Standard. For substitutions of any ingredient due to allergies, please consult a registered dietitian.

Honey Oatmeal Wheat Bread
Evelyn Cross, Prescott, AZ

3 cups boiling water
1 1/2 cups oatmeal
3/4 cup warm water (I use a kitchen thermometer to make sure the water is right at 110 degrees F.)
3 Pkgs. yeast (or 6 3/4 teaspoons)
1/2 cup honey or brown sugar (I only use honey.)
1/3 cup canola oil
2 tsp. salt
3-4 cups whole wheat flour
4-5 cups unbleached flour (The pkg. can say all-purpose, that’s fine.)

1. Pour boiling water over oatmeal in large mixing bowl. Cool to lukewarm. (You will want to do this step a couple hours before you plan on making the bread.)

2. Dissolve yeast in warm water. (Again, 110 degrees F.) Let stand until foamy. (Usually around 10 minutes. The photo below shows the yeast foaming above the water.)

3. Add yeast to oatmeal mixture. (I use a stand mixer for this.) Add honey or brown sugar and oil. Blend well. Add salt. Add whole wheat flour, stirring well after each addition. Gradually add unbleached flour, forming a soft dough. (I alternate between flours, leaving 1 cup of white flour remaining to kneed into the dough if necessary. A soft dough is usually not very sticky anymore and easy to take out of your mixing bowl.)

4. Turn out onto floured board and knead 5-10 minutes. Place dough in greased bowl, cover with a damp towel and let rise until double in size. (This might take a little over an hour depending on the temperature in your house. Use your best judgment to decide if it’s doubled from it’s original size.)

5. Punch down and form dough into 2-3 loaves. (They weren’t kidding when they said “punch”! 3 will make small loaves, 2 will make regular size loaves.) Let rise again about 20 minutes. (Notice that I am not particular about how perfect my bread looks.)

6. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes. (Sometimes based on your elevation, baking time will need to be increased a bit. I usually give it 40 minutes and we are at around 2500 ft. above sea level.) Put out on rack or board for cooling.

You did it! Now enjoy!

P.S. Green tip *Save the bread bags from your store bought bread to reuse over and over for your homemade loaves! Less plastic in the landfills, a great way to recycle, and you don’t have to purchase new bags just for your bread!

For more on my journey into urban homesteading and sustainable living, you can visit me and subscribe to my feed at Coming Up For Air….

You’re reading an original 5 Minutes for Going Green post!