I hate buying bread. I dislike the fact that store-bought bread is not that healthy and I resent having to buy an entire loaf at a time, because most of it goes bad before I get around to eating it. I rarely buy bread as a result.
But yesterday, I wanted some bread.
I could taste that bread, the craving was so strong.
The thing is, I don’t care that I live just down the street from the store. I was raised in the Mountains, and in the Mountains, you just don’t run to the store because you want a single item.
Where I come from, you either make do with what you have or you do without. You do not run to the store for a single item.
And you especially do not run to the store for a single item when you know most of it will go bad before you finish it.
As I dealt with my craving, it dawned on me that in ancient times our ancestors didn’t have stores to go to, yet they ate bread quite regularly. They certainly didn’t have fancy equipment or a lot of different things to add to that bread, either. Maybe I had enough stuff at home to make some of that simple bread?
I decided to dig through my pantry and found a small bag of self-rising flour. Yes!
I wasn’t in the mood for biscuits, however. I wanted bread, and I wanted it fast.
I decided to experiment.
I took a bit of the flour, added some melted butter, and mixed it well. Then I added water until it made a dough.
Once the dough was made, I heated up a skillet, rolled it into thin pieces, and fried it for a few seconds. It looked like pita bread or a thick flour tortilla when it was done.
That bread tasted heavenly! I ate the two pieces that I made and went to bed happy.
My experiment showed me once more that we don’t need what we think we need. It taught me that the solutions we’ve been taught are not always the best solutions.
It also taught me that you can make small, quick batches of bread with minimal ingredients that is a lot more filling than the store bought stuff.
I intend to continue that experiment. The next time I go to the store, I intend to buy a bag of whole wheat flour and try again.
If I’m right, we don’t need half of the stuff we’ve been taught we need when we want a basic bite of bread to fill our bellies with.
My experience makes me wonder about all of the other stuff we’ve been taught that we need that we really don’t. What else have the corporations programmed us to believe that aren’t true?
Have you ever discovered that you could make something at home or even do without an item that you were taught was an essential? Please share your stories in the comments below.
~#~
If you happen to find this post helpful, would you consider sharing it with a friend or on social media? Thanks!
I’ve written a lot of books sharing my odd view of life in hopes of helping others. My most notorious book is titled The Shoestring Girl: How I Live on Practically Nothing and You Can Too, but The Minimalist Cleaning Method is pretty popular as well. You can find them at the following places:
Barnes and Noble
Apple iBooks
Smashwords (non-DRM)
I made all our bread when we first married. 2 loves every Saturday for several years. After several decades I began making our bread again (unless I am craving Sourdough). So easy, simple whole ingredients and a little tincture of time. Once cooled I cut the loaf in half and freeze it in a freezer bag. It tastes fresh baked week 2. I’m with you on the WW flour. I am able to order a 25# bag of organic Bob’s Red Mill at my local grocery store with no shipping cost.
My easiest loaf which can easily be divided down to the size you want:
2c whole wheat flour
2c white flour
2tsp salt
2 tsp yeast
1.5 cup water
Happy Bread exploration!
Thank you soo much for the recipe, Elle! I am definitely going to try it. You are awesome!
It’s great that you’re making your own bread. But if you find yourself buying a loaf of bread in the future, I suggest that you try freezing most of it. Then when you’re ready to use it, either let it defrost at room temperature or toast it.
Thanks for the tip, kris! Do you find the bread hard when you thaw it out?
It’s great that you’re making your own bread. But if you find yourself buying a loaf of bread in the future, I suggest that you try freezing most of it. Then when you’re ready to use it, either let it defrost at room temperature or toast it.
I used to make a flatbread that was baked the oven from Bisquick that had dried onions in it. Making different flavors of bread makes them even better.
That sounds really good! Thank you for telling me about it, Linda! You are awesome!
I don’t eat that much bread either and frankly I have found that one of the scariest things about store bought bread is how long the shit lasts before it goes bad. That ain’t natural. I can make a ingredient flat bread that you fry up and it’s wonderful freshly fine up with butter or if you wanna little extra flavor add something to either the dough or the butter. Simple. Easy. Quick.
Your blog is helping me so much as I move towards a more frugal, minimal life. Thank you Annie 🙂
I am so glad you find my blog helpful, Darwin Girl! Thank you for making my day! Sometimes I wonder if I’m making a difference at all.