Make Your Daily Bread | The Big White Farmhouse

I live in a farmhouse on five acres in the country. It’s time for this suburban girl to learn a few things! Welcome to my self-taught Homesteading 101.

I should probably start with this disclaimer: I’m still buying bread at the grocery store and this doesn’t happen every day. But steps in the right direction!

I’ve been fascinated by the art and skill of bread baking for awhile now…and honestly, more than a little intimidated. But I’ve been telling my kids that to be better at something, we have to work hard at it and well, maybe Mama needs to listen to what she’s preaching.

Below are the four recipes I’ve tried so far:

“Best Bread Machine Bread”

I started this on my bread machine’s dough setting and then separated into two loaf pans. After they rose again (about an hour or two, depending on the day), I baked for 40 minutes at 375 degrees.
Consensus: Delicious! The kids ate the entire loaf in one sitting. We’ve made the recipe four times since.

Ciabatta Bread

After getting a recommendation for ciabatta on Instagram (thank you Katherine!!), I googled and found this recipe. Um… this definitely wasn’t Ciabatta 101. This required a two-day process and I even made my own starter/sponge!
Consensus: I may have done something wrong here – I don’t think it was as airy as it was supposed to be. Still super delicious. We ate it with soup.

Ciabatta Bread

THIS is the recipe I think Katherine was talking about, hah! The bread machine does most of the work for you, but the second half? Oh.my.word. I was a hot mess. The gooey, sticky dough is supposed to rest under a bowl for 15 minutes and I had the hardest time getting it underneath. My kids kept yelling, “IT’S ALIVE!!” Don’t even get me started about transferring to a baking sheet to rise…
Consensus: Yum. My technique needs improvement, but definitely airier than the one I made above.

White Bread

Mark found this recipe and led the baking of this one. It makes two massively tall loaves! I’m thinking that we could separate it into four instead and it wouldn’t make much of a difference.
Consensus: As far as sheer size, these are the clear winners, but I prefer the taste of the other breads above.

Still on my list: bread cooked in the Dutch oven, something that uses almond flour, pretzel bites, and maybe a cinnamon raisin loaf. And probably a workout plan too. Thank goodness there are 8 people in this house or I’d need a bigger pair of pants!