Five Reasons Why You Should Make Your Own Bread – and How to Do It!

By Bonnie MacLeod
Related Categories: Food, How to Posts

1) It’s healthy

In comparison to mass produced bread, when making your own, you know exactly what’s in it – no additives or preservatives, only wholesome ingredients suited to your personal preference. Of course, if you want to be even healthier still, you could buy organic ingredients. This is part of the beauty of the process – you’re in control of exactly what goes into each finished loaf.
2) The taste
Not only do you get warm and fresh bread from your machine, each loaf you bake will have a unique flavour, depending on which ingredients you have added. With over 100 recipes to choose from, there are plenty of breads to try your hand at, from the simplest farmhouse loaf to special flavoured breads. The only limit is your imagination!
3) The experience
Whichever type, flavour or size of loaf you choose to bake, the fact that you made it will be far more satisfying than shop-bought bread. Not only will it feel good to achieve the challenge of baking the perfect loaf, but it means you can show off your new skill to friends and family and feel very proud when presenting them with a loaf you have made from scratch.
4) It’s economical
Whilst bread from the shop can be expensive, a bag of flour can make you a number of loaves. If you bake a big batch in one go, once the bread has cooled, freeze any extra loaves and keep one at for the week. Every time you run of bread, you could retrieve a loaf from the freezer and allow it to thaw. Perfect accompanied with lashings of butter and a cup of tea – and it saves you an unnecessary trip to the shops!
5) Its simple and fun
There are just 12 simple steps to making the perfect loaf, and once you’ve got the hang of it, you will find it very straightforward. After making your first few loaves, be prepared to experiment. This will perhaps mean some less successful batches of bread, but it’s the only way to discover new flavours and find a bread that you really enjoy making (and eating!).  Best of luck!
For loads of great bread making recipes, read Brilliant Breadmaking in Your Bread Machine by Catherine Atkinson.