Food shopping is what I have always spent a big portion of my earnings on. There are 2 of us in the house and I was spending £100+ a week on groceries which I am trying to reduce.
One of the things that I found I was buying every other day is bread, which for just 2 of us is ridiculous. We were getting a full size loaf, and it wasn't that we were getting through the loaf it never stayed fresh for very long. My partner would also just snack on the bread. Take into account that I do not eat sandwiches very often, 1 person was eating a loaf pretty much to themselves every other day.
I decided to save some money and to also add variety to my partners diet that I would start making alternatives for us for lunch, so pasta, rice, potato salad and cous cous salads, ok sounds heavy on the carbs, however I weigh everything and I like to make sure that I use a small amount of the carb and bulk it up with vegetables, etc.
The other half does love his sandwiches though, so I have decided to treat him every so often, my rule is that I am not eating bread unless its special, so a nice crusty bread or even better something made by my own fair hands.
Its really simple, I just used a recipe from the packet of strong white flour, 1.5 tsp salt, 1 tsp sugar, 300ml lukewarm water. (method below)
as follows ; 500g strong white flour, 15ml vegetable oil or butter,
77p for 8 7g packets of fast action dried yeast. 77p/8 = 9
85p for 1.5kg of Tesco strong white flour.(500g = 1 loaf) 85p/3 = 28
1 loaf = approx. 37p (add a few pence for the veg oil, salt and sugar)
Method
put the dry ingredients into a bowl and mix, then add the oil/butter and mix again. Next, add the lukewarm water and combine, either with your hand or a hands free electric mixer with a dough hook (such as a kitchen aid), Once you have combined the mixture into a soft dough you will need to knead for 10 minutes, either by hand or again using the mixer with the dough hook. (I always used to do it by hand, but have just recently tried the mixer method and both work fine.)
Once the dough has been kneaded it should be soft and elastic, you will then need to shape it and put it on either a greased baking sheet or a greased 2lb loaf tin.
You will need to bake it on 230/210fan for 15 minutes and then lower to 200/180fan for another 15 to 20 minutes. (today I baked it at 180 for 55 minutes and that worked a treat too.) It tastes amazing, the crust is so crispy and the centre so soft.
The best part is that I get to choose when the bread is fresh, I don't have to pick the best of a bad bunch at the shop as I have found the bread to be stale on the shelves.
I know its a little effort, but these days the mixer does most of it. I hope that some of you try this, and if you do I hope you love it as much as I do.
Cookie x
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