# I think I'll bake bread



## budgetprepp-n (Apr 7, 2013)

I have put back a lot of stuff for trading for after the shtf. When the dust starts to settle there is going to be a lot of 
bartering going on. I have a good bit of whisky, tobacco and cheap foods like roman noodles (yuck) and stuff like that. But I have been learning how to make bread. And if I do say so myself I have gotten pretty good at it.
With just flour and a little yeast I can make a loaf of bread just as good as what you buy at the store 
So I'm thinking of putting up a small shed with a stone wood burning oven like you see in third world countries.
Why not? I think a fresh loaf of bread would be a great item for trading. And finding someone to cut wood or
help out shouldn't be a problem. (pay them with a loaf of bread) 
Sound like a good idea? I been pricing 25 and 50 pound bags of flour and I can get a pretty good deal if I take 500 pounds at a time. --- flour might get hard to find ---even just the flour might be good for trading.
Thoughts?

Note: I don't drink or smoke cigarettes but in stressful times any items that bring even short term comfort 
will be at a premium. Nothing like a smoke and a shot after a bad day


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## BigCheeseStick (Aug 7, 2013)

I'll trade a box a shells for a loaf of good banana bread ANY DAY!  

Isn't it made with black rotten looking bananas anyway? Never heard of it, but I have to believe strawberry bread would be good to. No reason to not get creative!


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## Meangreen (Dec 6, 2012)

budgetprepp-n said:


> I have put back a lot of stuff for trading for after the shtf. When the dust starts to settle there is going to be a lot of
> bartering going on. I have a good bit of whisky, tobacco and cheap foods like roman noodles (yuck) and stuff like that. But I have been learning how to make bread. And if I do say so myself I have gotten pretty good at it.
> With just flour and a little yeast I can make a loaf of bread just as good as what you buy at the store
> So I'm thinking of putting up a small shed with a stone wood burning oven like you see in third world countries.
> ...


I think it's a great idea and you could make extra money selling your bread at the local farmers markets.


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## Arizona Infidel (Oct 5, 2013)

budgetprepp-n said:


> I have put back a lot of stuff for trading for after the shtf. When the dust starts to settle there is going to be a lot of
> bartering going on. I have a good bit of whisky, tobacco and cheap foods like roman noodles (yuck) and stuff like that. But I have been learning how to make bread. And if I do say so myself I have gotten pretty good at it.
> With just flour and a little yeast I can make a loaf of bread just as good as what you buy at the store
> So I'm thinking of putting up a small shed with a stone wood burning oven like you see in third world countries.
> ...


Fresh homemade baked bread has to be one of the greatest things ever. But if your bread Is " just as good" as store bought bread, keep practicing. It should be much much better.


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## HuntingHawk (Dec 16, 2012)

SHTF I'm wondering where the bananas are coming from ....

You might want to consider sourdough. You will need a small refrigerator to keep the starter in but you won't have to worry about maintaining useable yeast. A small refrigerator powered by solar or an LP powered one.


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## budgetprepp-n (Apr 7, 2013)

Arizona Infidel said:


> Fresh homemade baked bread has to be one of the greatest things ever. But if your bread Is " just as good" as store bought bread, keep practicing. It should be much much better.


 It is a lot better ,,,,,I just didn't want to brag


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## AvengersAssembled (Dec 13, 2012)

Fresh baked bread would be a premium item, I think. When I was little, my parents were part of a food co-op. My mom has always been famous for her home made bread, and she would trade loaves for everything from fresh chicken, eggs, honey, beef, and vegetables, to firewood and children's clothes/toys. It's a vital skill I still need to learn, very useful!


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## BigCheeseStick (Aug 7, 2013)

HuntingHawk said:


> SHTF I'm wondering where the bananas are coming from ....
> 
> You might want to consider sourdough. You will need a small refrigerator to keep the starter in but you won't have to worry about maintaining useable yeast. A small refrigerator powered by solar or an LP powered one.


OK, _TWO_ box's of shells for a good banana bread!  Also why I suggested strawberries. Might be really good!


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## BigCheeseStick (Aug 7, 2013)

Are you guys cooking in a pan in the oven? Or in a "bread machine"? My wife and sisters have tried different bread machines and never had much luck with them. Out of the oven the stuffs GREAT!


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## HuntingHawk (Dec 16, 2012)

Most of what I bake is in bread pans. Spent a year learning how to make different breads. I use a Kitchenaid mixer. One cup warm water, yeast, sugar, & salt & stir with a fork. Wait till I see the yeast activating. Then add the sifted flour & rest of the warm water ontop of the flour. Some water on the bottom & rest added last I have found makes the mixing the best.

I have never had any luck with what they call a double rise.

What works for me is making the dough at night & allow to rise overnight & then bake the bread in the morning.


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## HuntingHawk (Dec 16, 2012)

I've never tried one of the bread maing machines but my neighbor had one. She tried to give it to me as she wasn't happy at all with it.

I buy bread yeast in the jar. Jars can be recycled into jelly jars or emergency candles.


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## HuntingHawk (Dec 16, 2012)

Once you can work dough & bake what you can do becomes endless. Raisins store a long time so can make raisin bread. Frosting ontop is just powdered sugar & milk.

Being able to make basic dough, you can make pot pies. With stew in them or fruit.

Then too, being able to work dough you can make hot pockets with canned fruit in them. They are a great treat. They do require a bit of counter space having to roll the dough out then cutting then filling. A nice thing is you can make them any size you want. And being they are one handed eating makes them convenient. One can of fruit will make a bunch of them. Peaches & pears are my favorite. But you can do canned cherries & add a frosting ontop.


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## Inor (Mar 22, 2013)

Funny bread story...

Mrs Inor has been baking most of our bread for years. She really is a great cook. So I have enjoyed many different kinds of bread she has learned to make over the years. About 6 or 7 years ago we learned that white flour only has a shelf life of about 5 years even if it is packed in a cool dry airtight container with an O2 absorber. Given that I wanted to provide for my family even in the worst of times, I went out and bought a Country Living grain mill and 350 pounds of Hard Red Wheat. When the mill and the wheat showed up, I set about building a base for the mill since Mrs Inor did not want me drilling holes through her counter tops to mount the thing. 

Then I started grinding, and grinding, and grinding some more. After about two hours I had ground up enough flour for Mrs Inor to bake two large loaves. She used her normal recipe for whole-wheat bread and after about 6 hours of mixing and rising and baking we had two big loaves of homemade wheat bread.

The next day we were both greatly looking forward to lunch when we could try a couple ham sammiches made from our home ground flour. Mrs Inor cut a couple slices of our bread each about 1/2 inch thick. That was when we discovered that each of those bread slices weighed about 1/4 pound each! They tasted great, but each bread had about the same density as meat! :shock:

She has since learned some tricks for dealing with that, but that first a bit heavy!


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## HuntingHawk (Dec 16, 2012)

I'm on my next phase of working with dough. That is making doughnuts/donuts. That 360 for the vegetable oil is critical. I like the "cake" batter donuts using egg & milk. I'm just doing simple toppings like mix of powdered sugar & milk. But can take that & add Herseys chocolate bars to it for a chocolate topping. The sugar topping you can sprinkle shredded coconut to it while still wet on the donut. Or add "sprinkles" to the sugar topping while still wet.


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## HuntingHawk (Dec 16, 2012)

Inor, when I do wheat or rye bread I use 3 parts white flour to one part wheat or rye. You get the flavor but its not as "heavy".


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## HuntingHawk (Dec 16, 2012)

BTW, not my favorite but you can also fill the hot pockets with jelly or a mix of peanut butter & jelly.


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## Inor (Mar 22, 2013)

HuntingHawk said:


> Inor, when I do wheat or rye bread I use 3 parts white flour to one part wheat or rye. You get the flavor but its not as "heavy".


I think she did that. I know she also adds gluten to the wheat to get it rise more. I am not sure what her other techniques are, but it works. My initial shock was having 350 pounds of wheat that would have been only useful for making "fire-retardant wheat bricks"  Thankfully, Mrs Inor came through again.


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## BigCheeseStick (Aug 7, 2013)

Inor said:


> Funny bread story...
> 
> Mrs Inor has been baking most of our bread for years. She really is a great cook. So I have enjoyed many different kinds of bread she has learned to make over the years. About 6 or 7 years ago we learned that white flour only has a shelf life of about 5 years even if it is packed in a cool dry airtight container with an O2 absorber. Given that I wanted to provide for my family even in the worst of times, I went out and bought a Country Living grain mill and 350 pounds of Hard Red Wheat. When the mill and the wheat showed up, I set about building a base for the mill since Mrs Inor did not want me drilling holes through her counter tops to mount the thing.
> 
> ...


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## indie (Sep 7, 2013)

Bread would be a great barter item. I see you're pricing flour...why not look for whole wheat and get a grinder? We have an electric grinder now but I want to have a Country Living (hooked up to a bicycle) as a nonelectric backup. Our electric grinder grinds a hopper full in about 20 minutes, which equates to 6-8 cups of flour (need to measure it out next time).

Wheat berries are cheaper still than bulk flour, giving you more for your money. Even if you buy white bread flour and mix it half and half with fresh ground, you could save money.


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## Inor (Mar 22, 2013)

indie said:


> Bread would be a great barter item. I see you're pricing flour...why not look for whole wheat and get a grinder? We have an electric grinder now but I want to have a Country Living (hooked up to a bicycle) as a nonelectric backup. Our electric grinder grinds a hopper full in about 20 minutes, which equates to 6-8 cups of flour (need to measure it out next time).
> 
> Wheat berries are cheaper still than bulk flour, giving you more for your money. Even if you buy white bread flour and mix it half and half with fresh ground, you could save money.


If you go down the path of getting the Country Living mill, make sure you use it quite a bit before you NEED it. Each one is assembled by hand and it takes a few times for the bearings and such to seat themselves. Thus, it is really HARD to crank the first few times.

Other than that, it is a really well made tool and I recommend it highly.


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## indie (Sep 7, 2013)

Inor said:


> If you go down the path of getting the Country Living mill, make sure you use it quite a bit before you NEED it. Each one is assembled by hand and it takes a few times for the bearings and such to seat themselves. Thus, it is really HARD to crank the first few times.
> 
> Other than that, it is a really well made tool and I recommend it highly.


Thanks for the info! The kids had one at their school last year and loved to play with it, so I'll be sure to put 'em to work once we get one.

I'm kicking myself for passing on a gently used one for *$50* the other day. People got it and decided they weren't really going to use it. Was about 2 hours away and I'd blown my prep budget for the month, but darnit, should have anyway!


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## HuntingHawk (Dec 16, 2012)

Regular white bread, I get 4 loaves from a 5lb bag. I make two loaves per week just for myself.


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## HuntingHawk (Dec 16, 2012)

I posted the above as a reference so those that wish to can calculate how much flour to store. Now, if you are going to make fresh pan bread everyday that takes 3 cups of flour.


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## PaulS (Mar 11, 2013)

I make two large loaves with 5 cups of flour and a cup of starter - so that would be six cups of flour. I don't need yeast or sugar to make mine (it's sourdough).


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