Richard Bertinet’s Dough presents a very persuasive argument for baking bread at home. Over a two-page spread, it describes the difference between a typical shop-bought loaf and one made at home. Here’s what it says:
Shop-bought loaf typically contains:
- wheatflour
- water
- yeast
- wheat protein
- salt
- vinegar
- dextrose
- soya flour
- vegetable fat
- emulsifier E472e (mono- and diacetyle tartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids)
- flour treatment agent E300 (ascorbic acid)
- preservative calcium propionate (to inhibit mould growth).
Home-made loaf contains:
- flour
- yeast
- salt
- water
That was enough to convince us to start baking our own bread in 2006.
Now, three years on, we know where every ingredient in our bread comes from – our flour is Australian grown and processed in Kevin Sherrie’s state of the art mill; our oil is extra virgin cold-pressed from cousin Andrew’s olives. We buy Australian sea salt and control the exact amount we use, making our homemade bread about 30% less salty than supermarket loaves. Our sourdough leaven is constantly being renewed, providing us with crusty, low GI loaves two to three times a week. Additionally, baking bread satisfies my creative urges, and instills a rhythm and cadence in our lives that I find particularly comforting.
All this for a total outlay of 65c per loaf, about $4.50 a week. Can you see why we just can’t bring ourselves to buy commercial bread anymore?
If you’d like try baking your own bread at home, you might find our Bread #101 Tutorial useful. There are also lots of recipes on our Bread page. Have fun!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 