Saving $$$ making bread

So we know that baking at home can save money but I have troubles figuring it all out. You take the cost of your flour, decide how much it is an ounce, how many ounces you use. . . blah, blah, blah. It makes my head spin.

Poking around on the King Arthur site, I found this is figured for you at the end of each recipe!!

Here's white sandwich bread. Ignore the fancy name. They need you to use a special pan but also said you can use a regular pan & cover with a cookie sheet weighted with a brick.
Buy vs. Bake

Buy: Pepperidge Farm Very Thin White Bread, 22¢/ounce

Bake at home: Pain de Mie, 8¢/ounce

They also did the same for a cheese cracker similar to a Cheez-It. Mmmmmm. Plus look at the difference in ingredients!

Buy vs. Bake

Buy: Sunshine Cheez-It Crackers, 33¢/ounce

Ingredients: Enriched Flour, Soybean and Palm Oil with TBHQ for Freshness, Skim Milk Cheese, Salt, Contains Two Percent or Less of Paprika, Yeast, Paprika Oleoresin for Color, Soy Lecithin.

Bake at home: Vermont Cheese Crackers, 24¢/ounce

Ingredients: King Arthur Flour, Vermont cheddar cheese, yeast, salt, baking powder, vegetable shortening.

Come see Rocks in my Dryer for more Works for Me Wednesday tips!

Sourdough Starter

I've gotten my sourdough starter going again. I bought a great crock to grow it in & a starter. Then something happened with the starter & I quit. For a good 6 months. But I've got a new one & I made a bread last night!

My starter - before & after replenishing


Dried Yeast Starter
1 pkg active dried yeast
2 cups flour (unbleached white is my fav)
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 Tbs honey

Mix everything together in a non metal container. This will double or even triple so be sure you have room for it. I use a crock, but you can use a canning jar or a bowl. Cover loosely & let stand on the counter for a day or two. You'll see bubbling happen within the first 10 minutes, but let this wait for a few days to get 'sour.'

Feeding/Replenishing your starter
You need to put in about as much as you take out. There's no exact measurement to this - you just need to experiment. I used 1 cup starter, so I replenished with 1 cup flour & 3/4 cup water.

There's some great info here at KingArthurFlour. Its not where I bought my crock - if I remember I'll put the link in.

Sourdough White Sandwich Bread
1 cup starter
1 1/4 cups white flour (unbleached)
1 cup warm water
1 1/2 cups milk
2 Tbs honey
2 tsp salt
2 Tbs butter
6 1/2 cups flour

Mix the first 3 ingredients & let stand 10 to 24 hours.
When you're ready to bake, heat the milk, honey, salt & butter. Cool to lukewarm.
Add cooled mixture to sourdough mixture & beat in enough flour to make a dough you can handle. Turn out onto a floured board and let rest 15 to 20 minutes. Knead until smooth & elastic. Don't skimp on kneading. *I used my KitchenAid with the dough attachment to knead & then hand kneaded for just 3 minutes or so.

After kneading, place in a greased bowl, spritz the top with cooking spray & cover with a damp towel. Place in a warm location & let double. Punch dough down & let rise again. (Each may take 2 hrs to rise) Knead dough into shape you desire & put in baking pan - I've been using my stoneware (Brad ordered these in at Hometown for anyone in Yakima!) & it is fab! You should have 2-3 loaves. Dough should fill each pan about 1/2 way. Cover with a damp cloth & let rise again.

Bake at 375 for 45 minutes.

My dough - before baking but after rising. . . . and after baking.

Serious Savings!

In case you didn't know, Kmart is doubling coupons this week!

Here's what I bought

Kmart
Spend Total			$76.28
Coupon Total			$34.9
Grand Total			$41.38
% Savings			46%
Item	Price		Amount paid	Coupon $$ Amount
Dove	$5.29		$3.29	$2.00
Olay	$4.49		$2.49	$2.00
Soft Soap	$1.29		$0.59	$0.70
Mailing Tape	$1.79		-$0.21	$2.00
Colgate	$3.00		$2.00	$1.00
Colgate	$3.00		$2.00	$1.00
Colgate	$3.00		$2.00	$1.00
Kids Colgate	$1.99		$0.49	$1.50
Kotex 22 ct	$1.29		-$0.21	$1.50
Head & Shoulders	$5.49		$3.49	$2.00
Blistex	$1.29		$0.79	$0.50
Suave Salon	$1.67		-$0.33	$2.00
Suave Salon	$1.67		-$0.33	$2.00
OB Tampons	$5.50		$3.50	$2.00
J&J bar soap	$0.99		-$1.01	$2.00
tee shirts 6 pack	$6.00		$5.00	$1.00
kleenex lotion big	$1.67		$0.87	$0.80
kleenex lotion big	$1.67		$0.87	$0.80
pace salsa 2jars	$4.00		$2.00	$2.00
NV granola bars	$2.99		$1.99	$1.00
NV granola bars	$2.99		$1.99	$1.00
Welch white grape	$4.49		$2.49	$2.00
Welch white grape	$4.49		$2.49	$2.00
Celestial Seaons tea	$2.79		$1.69	$1.10

Yes, that's right. . . I have 5 items that were FREE!!! What a deal! I don't think I've ever done that before in my life. And to think of all the years I never once used a coupon.

I found some great Excel files at Mommy Snacks and I've modified them a bit to suit what I'd like them to say. I'm going to start budgeting better this year! And save some serious $$$ while I'm at it.