You know that I am a big advocate of making your own bread to save money (and eat healthier. Well, the other day, a reader of our blogs mentioned to me that she would love to have home made bread but thought that it was too much trouble. I suggested that she get a bread machine to make things easier. “Oh, it isn’t making the bread!” she said. “It is slicing the bread. The slices are always uneven or the bread gets squished or the slices are too big to use for sandwiches.”
I was happy to hear this, because this problem is easy to solve. There is no need to be intimidated by having to slice your homemade bread. I know that people have gotten used to having their bread slices right out of a bag. There is a reason for the saying, “The best thing since sliced bread.” Now here are my suggestions that will get you back to making frugal homemade bread.
To make slicing your bread easier:
Let the loaf cool completely. Hot or warm bread is harder to slice.
Use a good sharp knife that is made for cutting bread and keep the knife away from the dishwasher, where it will dull (says the person who has been using a dull bread knife for years).
Pick up a plastic bread slicing guide. The bread sits in the guide, making it easier to create nice even slices. I found mine for $3 at the Goodwill, but you can find them at most home goods type stores. The investment should be well worth the savings.
And for the truly daunted, simply don’t slice the bread. I can’t tell you how many times a warm loaf of bread was snatched off of the counter and taken along in the car where many hands simple tore chunks off the loaf off to eat.
Be sure to check out the Food Blog for some great bread recipes!
Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, technology in the Computing Blog, and creating a home in the Home Blog. Starting June 1st, don’t miss her articles in the Baby Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here.
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