More Food

Mr. Perfect and I have been discussing the quantities of food we will soon be required to purchase and prepare as our children enter the pre-teen and teen phase. We have a few years, but we are already beginning to see the enormity of it! Our family of 6 with 4 children 10 years and younger can easily consume in one day: a gallon of milk, two loaves of bread, 3 cups of oatmeal, a block of cheese, 1/2 jar of peanut butter, a quart of strawberries, 3-4 apples, 3-4 carrots, a box of granola bars, 2 lbs of chicken, 10 potatoes, a half dozen ears of corn, and a gallon of sweet tea.

But amazingly, it took us a week to eat a homemade chocolate cake. (And I had the last piece!)

Our Daily Bread

I baked bread. And it was delicious! I have rarely had success baking bread. It is always too heavy, dense, and flavorless. This bread was so delicious that Mr. Perfect agreed we should no longer buy pre-made bread....we should bake bread everyday.

So what made the difference? First, I think I stumbled across a very simple, excellent recipe for a typical, sweet, white bread. I will link it here. Second, I'm homeschooling. Homeschooling makes a big difference, because I am at HOME! When I have made bread in the past, I have rushed the rising process. Before now I have rarely been at home for a 4-5 hour stretch. Now, I am at home from the time I get up until at least 2 pm everyday. Sometimes all day. So I can watch the dough rise without rushing, and it is beautiful!

Once the dough rises, it bakes and fills our home with that amazing, fresh, baked bread smell. And then it is quickly gobbled up by our stay at home family. When you feed six people breakfast, lunch and dinner in your home everyday, two loaves of bread are gone in a snap. Which gives me a reason to bake bread....daily.