Saturday, June 21, 2014

Wheat Bread Recipe- Healthy, Easy and Cheap

I love feeding my family healthy foods but it can definitely get pretty expensive so I try to find ways to save where I can without compromising nutrition.
 
One way I have done that is by making my own sandwich bread. Before I started doing this I was easily spending $3 to $4 on one loaf of healthy bread and with three kids to feed I was using at least two loaves a week. Yikes!
 
I decided that I was throwing away too much money and pulled out my trusty bread machine to see if I could make my own sandwich bread and guess what? I was actually able to make a loaf that my kids loved to the point where they didn't even miss the store bought stuff.
 

 
I have since tweaked the original recipe to make it more healthy and am still very satisfied with how well it comes out- it is downright tasty and is cheap to make even with using better ingredients. Plus, since I use the bread machine it only takes me a few minutes of hands on time to make it which is so helpful considering that I work part time now.
 

 

Here is my recipe:

1 cup and 2 tablespoons warm water
3 tablespoons sunflower oil (I've also used canola, coconut and olive oil with great results)
3 tablespoons sugar (I use coconut or sucanat)
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour (or white whole wheat flour)
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons yeast

Place ingredients in pan of your bread machine in the order called for by the manufacturer (I add water, sugar, oil, salt then flour and put the yeast on top). Choose bread machine setting- when I use instant yeast I choose the whole wheat quick cycle and when I use active dry yeast I choose the regular whole wheat cycle (I have a Zojirushi machine). Every brand of bread machine seems to be different, so it may take a few times to find the perfect setting to cook your loaf.

Once bread is done, let cool on a wire rack. When completely cooled, slice with a bread knife (I have found that cutting cooled bread has better results than warm bread and definitely use a bread knife to get even results).

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