Reduced plastic, on toast

Who doesn't love the smell of fresh baked bread?  We sometimes go through two loaves of bread every week.  That's more than 100 plastic bags a year!  If I started baking our own, this would be a great way to reduce our plastic consumption.

I was lucky enough to inherit a bread maker from a friend who was not using hers (thanks Jennie!), but it was only a few weeks ago that I actually brought it out to make a loaf.  The key ingredient I was missing was vital wheat gluten, which is responsible for the stretchiness of dough, and is very high in protein.  You can make bread without it, but this is one of those secret ingredients that really make the difference.  So after I picked some up in the health food section at the Superstore, I was ready to go.

Pro's

• No plastic bag to throw away
• You can make the bread as healthy, vegan, and organic as you like, depending on what ingredients are chosen
• No preservatives

Con's

• Energy efficiency, surely the bread makers on a large scale are doing it more efficiently than we could
• Time - is this too much effort?

Since we are now Bullfrog powered, I argued that at least we know we are using green electricity to bake our bread.  I've been making it for about three weeks now, and it honestly requires very little time.  Maybe ten minutes per loaf, maximum.  If you don't have a bread maker, you can always make it in your oven, or check out your local bakery or farmer's market, and remember to bring your own bag!

Looks good, doesn't it?

Whole Wheat Bread:

(For bread machine choose 1.5 lb, light crust)

• 3 C whole wheat flour
• 1 TBSP vital wheat gluten
• 1/4 C sugar (you can also use honey)
• 2 TBSP oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp active dry yeast
• 1/2 C rolled oats (optional)
• 1 1/2 C water

I'm going to keep experimenting with the recipe - adding flax seeds, or nuts, just to keep it interesting!