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Making Dough

My money saving attitude is very short term. Luckily, long term is just a whole bunch of short terms all stapled together. When it comes to doing a little bit of effort to save money I generally start out very keen. But, as anyone who's seen 'The Matrix' Trilogies can tell you, something that starts out exciting never continues to be exciting 'ad infinitum'.

I became mad-keen on making my own bread. I picked up a second hand bread machine for $25 and got cracking. Second hand bread machines are a dime a dozen. It's one of those purchases that seemed like a good idea at the time but just fills up cupboard space. A whimsical decision by someone with too much money can be turned to your benefit.

Making your own bread is initially a bit of effort but so long as your excited about it you'll be fine. Until the elation lifts. It's all well and good when you start. The smell of fresh bread in the morning, The thrill of creation. It only takes fifteen minutes to do.

But alas fifteen minutes becomes too long. You can promise yourself that you're going to commit to it but that rarely works. You have to acknowledge that you're going to lose steam over the course of a venture.

So here's the trick,..

Use that initial burst of enthusiasm to figure out how to get that time down as low as possible. Instead of measuring the three and 5/8ths of a cup of flour each time. Weight it and then the flour section drops from three minutes to 40 second. Waiting for the water in the jug to settle so you can read the measurement? Drill a hole in a cup so that excess water runs out and you're left with the exact amount you need.

It now takes me slightly more time to make fresh bread than it does to put bread in my trolley at the supermarket. It's fresh, it's all eaten before it goes off and it costs around 80 cents a loaf (including power) rather than $3 at Woolies or $4 at the bakery.

If you only eat one loaf per week, that's a saving of over $110 in a year.

How are you cutting corners off the grocery bill?

Tags: bread, cooking, groceries, shopping

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Kbot on July 24, 2008 at 11:13am

I don't think you're going to save a heap on rice - unless of course you're a professional sumo wrestler and live on several kilos of rice a day. Or, the paddy field could be an option and you could become the local market gardener. Then you could move onto poppies when you realise that there's only so much to be made from rice.

Besides it would take a hell of a lot of buying rice in bulk to pay back the expense of the really big pot.

I reckon the best option is to try to save money on some of the bigger expenses - fuel, eating out, items that you think you need, but don't really need (like a really big pot). I can see the advantage in making your own bread - could be fun too, but I draw the line at saving pennies on rice!!!

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Permalink Reply by ff123 on August 7, 2008 at 10:44am

Like the hole in the cup buisness - does it freeze well - could you have a bread making frenzy one day for a weeks worth of bread?

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Permalink Reply by DNABeast on August 7, 2008 at 10:51am

I don't think so. I've never tried it but I have noticed that it doesn't last half as long as store bought bread. It's not packed full of preservatives and goes off quickly if it's not eaten. Making a number of batches would also require waiting between each loaf too. (Although you can just make the dough then pop it in the oven rather than use the machine to bake.)

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Permalink Reply by Warren on August 7, 2008 at 11:01am

No preservatives is a good thing! So much of what we eat has stuff in it that it shouldn't have. One massive advantage of making your own bread is the actual making of it - the process itself gives you a different experience rather than the spoon-fed life we've all become accustomed to. As a bread-maker you may just get a spot in the nuclear bunker ;)

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Permalink Reply by DNABeast on August 7, 2008 at 11:14am

Sure. As long as I can find a Miller to help out,.. And I don't even know what yeast is.

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Permalink Reply by Warren on August 7, 2008 at 11:25am

Here you go, from Wikipedia. Now go find that miller to befriend...

Yeasts are a growth form of eukaryotic microorganisms classified in the kingdom Fungi, with about 1,500 species currently described;[1] they dominate fungal diversity in the oceans.[2] Most reproduce asexually by budding, although a few do by binary fission. Yeasts are unicellular, although some species with yeast forms may become multicellular through the formation of a string of connected budding cells known as pseudohyphae, or false hyphae as seen in most molds.[3] Yeast size can vary greatly depending on the species, typically measuring 3–4 µm in diameter, although some yeasts can reach over 40 µm.[4]

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Permalink Reply by Melinda on August 14, 2008 at 10:08pm

What about bread at your local greengrocer?
I average around $1.10 a loaf and with very little grief.....................
My main beef being, I cannot stand slicing bread, I always hodge podge it up!

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Permalink Reply by Bandwidth on August 14, 2008 at 10:39pm

Hello Melinda

A very sharp bread knife helps als you can get a slicing guide from somewher like HOUSE. BTW cold bread slices easier so stick it in the fridge for a bit

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Permalink Reply by Kylie on September 12, 2008 at 11:06am

Hi, I too am into making my own bread products. I can get bread for $1.10 a loaf, but rolls are always more expensive, so I make rolls instead! The kids love rolls for lunch and for around 70cents I get a dozen rolls, compared to around $3.00 from the supermrket. I also make a hot cross bun recipe (minus the cross) for fruit buns and fruit loaf, a huge saving, and my own torillas and foccaica. The more I make the better I get at it, if at first you don't succeed try, try again! I don't have a bread maker either so it is good for nice looking upper arms!