Bread has been a staple part of our diets for thousands of years and the huge variety on sale in shops seems to show that our love for it isn't diminishing. As with so many other shop-bought products, the question is, can you do better yourself with homemade bread? That's what I'm here to find out. Before I start, it's important to point out, homemade bread doesn't necessarily mean that you have to learn all of the skills yourself, as modern breadmakers are designed to give you excellent loaves with very little skill.
See, our best breadmaker guide for more information.
Nutrition and health
Bread is one of those foods that's often in the firing line for being unhealthy, and it's often one of the first foods to be avoided when someone's on a diet. But, the truth is that in moderation bread is not that harmful to you, and it's a good source of carbohydrates. Of course, it's even better if you know what's going into a slice.
The big problem with most mass-produced shop-bought bread is that there's extra salt, sugar, other preservatives and additives that go into it. While these may make the bread last longer, they also make it less pure and worse for you. When you make your own bread, you control exactly what you put in it, so additional additives are out of the question. In addition, you can often swap the sugar component for something more natural, such as honey, or forgo it entirely in some cases.
Of course, it goes without saying that you can add more sugar and other ingredients into your bread, making home-baked loaves even more calorific than shop bought ones. But, this is all about control and choice, and you have the ability to make healthier loaves if you want to.
Wholemeal or white?
You can also choose more carefully, the type of flour that you want to use. Wholemeal flours, which are made from the entire grain, are healthier for you, as the carbohydrates are digested more slowly than those in white bread, releasing energy over a longer period.
White flour is made from the grain's endosperm only, so it has less fibre and nutrients than wholemeal. By law, millers have to add in calcium, niacin, iron and thiamin, to try and get the white flour to a similar nutritional standard as wholemeal, but wholemeal still has the nutritional advantage. On top of that, you're free to use other flours entirely, so rye flour and gluten-free options can all be a lot healthier. Of course, you can usually add in other ingredients, such as fruit or nuts.
Longevity
Typically, shop-bought loaves will stay soft for longer, thanks to the preservatives in them. That's not something that you want for your homemade bread, so the trick to making it last longer is in the way that you store it. First, you should always let your bread fully cool before you pack it way (around two hours should do the trick). Secondly, make sure that you keep the bread in a bread bin, so that it's not exposed to the elements. For the best storage, you could buy a vented bread box (Amazon has a decent selection) or a ceramic bread keeper (available from Amazon for £3.95), which keeps bread moist and fresh.
Cost
A regular loaf of white bread costs around £1 in the shops, but the basic ingredients to make your own cost around 58p. You can spend a lot more on ingredients to make different types of bread, although I should point out that speciality bread costs a lot more in the shops and it's likely to be even more expensive in a bakery (although a decent baker will not fill the bread with additives). Ultimately, you can save a decent amount of money by making your own bread when you want it.
Control and convenience
The big benefit to making your own bread is that you get the type of bread that you want, when you want it, with the ingredients that you want to use. It's this combination that really makes a homemade loaf better than its mass-produced rival. And, there's nothing quite like the smell of fresh-baked bread!
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Don't get put off
Finally, playing with bread recipes and trying new things out is bound to end up with some dud loaves, but don't let this put you off. Experimentation is an important part of learning and you'll soon find the right recipe for you.
