I feel frustrated sometimes by feeling like I'm choosing between two equally annoying options: I can spend two hours baking bread or I can spend five dollars per very small loaf.
Lately I've been making a lot of my own baked goods. Yes, my time is worth more than $2.50 an hour, but I like knowing what goes into my bread (or anything, for that matter). Plus, even though it seems inconvenient, it's sometimes a small oasis in my day. I like being forced to slow down and think about what I'm doing.
I also have to conserve my daily bread allowance and make a conscious choice when to spend it. When I was buying a loaf of wheat bread, a loss of a few slices was no big deal. I could always buy another huge loaf at the store for a dollar. Nowadays, whether it's a loaf I spent my time or (a lot of) my money on, I cringe if it molds or someone takes one bite and throws it out.
I'm sure it's helped me to make better dietary choices as well. When the bread was cheap and ever present, I'm sure I chose that over something that might have been better for me. Now I have to decide if my craving for bread is worth the time.
Here's the bread I make when I want to have some on hand for sandwiches. The recipe can also be converted to hamburger buns. I haven't tried it that way yet, but plan to in the summer.
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