New Year's Resolution to bake your own bread?

How many of us have made a resolution this month to make more bread at home?  Did you receive a bread machine for Christmas to help with that?  I'm all for home baking, because it means we can source local ingredients, use less packaging and lower food miles.  There is a big 'BUT', though isn't there?  It takes time and energy. 

Well, I have a great way to make your own bread rolls in about 3 minutes hands-on preparation time...no joke!  Use the recipe for bread rolls in your bread machine cook book - mine is the 50 percent wholemeal recipe with a little less water.  Put the ingredients in the bucket and turn the machine on to a PIZZA setting.  The machine will then do all the mixing and kneading for you.  Take it out as soon as it has finished and turn the dough out onto a floured surface.  Cut up the dough into the required number of rolls.  (This method has the added bonus of being able to make the right size rolls for each member of your family) and place onto a baking sheet.  Cut slashes across the top of each one and then leave them somewhere for a while until they are doubled in size.  That can be a cold place such as an unheated house overnight, or a warm spot for an hour or two.  Turn on your oven to about 200degrees Celcius and bake for around 10-15 minutes until they are golden and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. 

Seriously, this is all I do to provide my hungry family with bread rolls all week.  I bake a double batch on a Sunday, put them in a drawer in the freezer and take them out the night before I need them.  If we want a smart loaf which looks like it was bought at a deli at the weekends I will sometimes shape the dough into two circular loaves and then leaving to rise in the same way.  That takes a bit longer to cook.

I have a sack of flour from our nearest mill - Walk Mill in my dining room so I know I am benefitting local businesses when I bake.  They stone grind their own wheat to make lovely quality flour.  It is sold in outlets near my home in Lymm, such as Davenports farm shop, who will collect a sack for me when they collect their supplies. http://www.walkmillflour.co.uk/

Lisa Reid