This school year, we plan to bake one loaf of bread a week. It’s a recent goal, one that happened organically. There are 36 weeks in a school year in the US, so we will have tried 36 different recipes by the end of the school year.
Basic white/French bread – a simple recipe with four ingredients
I find weekly goals easier than daily goals, because life happens. No matter how well you plan, there will never be enough planning to eliminate life’s events. But a weekly goal of break making gives us flexibility.
For instance, it does not have to happen on a certain day of the week. If I have more time on a Wednesday, then we bake break on a Wednesday. But on a different week, it might be that Tuesday happens to have an extra 10 minutes.
Cooking Lab – A Must in Every Home
So how do you bake bread in 10 minutes? With a bread machine, it only takes 10 minutes to measure the ingredients into the pan and push a few buttons. Then, you come back in four hours and voila, bread. Meanwhile, the house smells like a bakery – like a home.
Children should learn how to cook and bake. It is my goal this year to involve my children in the kitchen more. They are 12 and 10 respectively. They have always helped over the years, but now I am ready in my mind to be more intentional about it.
On the first week of our baking project, I did not know we were going to start this. It was our first day of school and we hiked with our Wild + Free group as we usually do. My daughter overheard a conversation between some of the moms, about baking bread. After the hike, my daughter said, “Can we also bake bread?” One of the many benefits of hanging out with good, wholesome, homeschooling moms, is that wholesome endeavors rub off on you.
I have baked bread in the past for the family, but not consistently. And when I had to go on a gluten free diet, three years ago, it really took the fun out of bread making. So no, I will not be tasting these loaves of bread myself, because I have pain when I eat gluten, but the kids and my husband can enjoy. I will just supervise and provide guidance.
