Bread Making

I grew up in a house with amazing parents. My  mom made basically everything from scratch for most of my life. She is the bread making queen. I felt so spoiled growing up eating yummy bread and wanted to give my boys the same memories. 

I've been making our bread on and off now for about 4 years but never managed to make enough to not have to supplement with store bought. We got a darling red Kitchen Aid when we first got married that I love. My mom always had a Bosch and I knew someday I would want one, but the Kitchen Aid was a good choice at first.

The problem for me with my Kitchen Aid was that I could only make two loaves of bread at a time. My family would eat through that in 3 days and then we'd not have bread for a while. I'd keep a backup in the freezer that worked most of the time. 

It really became evident that I needed two things if I was going to get serious about making all our bread. I would need a wheat grinder and a Bosch. My fabulous husband has spoiled me rotten this last month and got me both. They were both pretty pricey but with the amount of bread my boys consume, it just made sense. Plus he really loves me. :)

Here is my wheat grinder. I went with the Kitchen Mill by Blendtec. Having fresh ground wheat really makes the bread taste amazing. Plus, the nutritional value skyrockets when you use fresh flour.

I am currently using Hard White Wheat from the church warehouse. There isn't a lot of options out here. We did just however find a fabulous Mennonite store that carries wheat, gluten, and lecithin. All fresh and great prices.

Here is my Bosch. I used it for the first time yesterday and it did NOT disappoint. It was so easy and fast.  Plus, I made enough dough for four loaves with plenty of room to spare. My mom has had her Bosch for 35 years and it's still going strong. I look forward to having a long relationship with mine.

Here is my bread rising. I set out one amount to make cinnamon rolls for the boys. I use these Lodge cast iron bread pans. Sterling got these for me and I love them. They make fabulous crust.

 Here is everything all ready to bake. It made a small batch of cinnamon rolls, which is really all we need around here.

The finished product. It takes a little less than 2 hours from start to finish. I'm really getting a hand of the routine and my boys are loving the results. We usually consume 3/4 a loaf on the first day. 

And that is my bread making story.