The Bread Thread v1.0000

[swilow]

Yeah- lets do it, lets join together and regale each other with tales of bread and other dough-induced debauchery...

I fucken love bread; I'm a huge fan of sour dough loaves, ciabatta (oh yes, in olive oil!!), pumpernickel and even generic white bread.

Bread is interesting; it can be overlooked as a mere staple, and yet it has the ability to either correct or destroy your health (well, maybe not destroy, but white bread isn't all that good for you...) To me, as a vegetarian, I have bread all the time; whislt I consider cheese to be my "meat", bread is my "everything else".

For christmas, I received a bread maker, and have been baking several loaves per week; it saves me money, and I can make any bread I choose (well, almost any). Lately, I've been making wholemeal loaves with lots of seeds and the like...

So, whats your favorite and why?

 

[delta_9]

For about a year now I've been using this bread baked with 12 sprouted whole wheat grains, flax seeds, almonds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, brown rice, walnuts, and hazelnuts.

I spread one half with organic raw almond butter and the other half with organic raw peanut butter. I then proceed to liberally sprinkle a mix of organic raw flax and organic sunflower seeds in the center.

I eat one every single day. SOOOOO yummy, and gotta be at least 600 kCals

I have me a bread baker as well, but I never find myself using it. It just sits there with all the other appliances I thought were neat and I thought I would use often, like my juicer, my rice cooker, my espresso maker, and my stick blender. About the only appliance I use nowadays is my coffemaker and my hot water heater/dispenser for brewing the perfect cup of tea :D

 

[Changed]

Lately I've been eating 'sprouted' bread. At $4.75 a loaf, it isn't cheap, but each slice is so hardy that is lasts just as long as whole wheat-- also can't feel bad when the worst ingredient in there is soy...

Re: bread machine-- ditch 'em! It is so easy to make great tasting bread from scratch-- and it doesn't take much time or work. Check out this article from the NYT's: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/dining/08mini.html?_r=1&ref=dining

(here is the recipe if you're illiterate or lazy: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/dining/081mrex.html?ref=dining )

I made a loaf (at my parents house where the oven functions) and ate the entire thing by myself by the end of the day-- it was artisanal on my first try.