Bread for less than 25 cents

 

This loaf cost less than 25 cents. I buy bread flour in bulk. $9 for 25 pounds. That puts the cost of the 3 cups I use at around 11 cents. Salt is 1+1/4 TSP and the yeast is 1/4 TSP. Add in almost 1 + 3/4 cups (almost 14 oz.) tap water and oven energy puts it at less than a quarter. Time it right and the heat generated by the oven supplements heating your home on cold winter nights.

Add flour, salt, and yeast to a bowl. Stir together. Add in almost 1 + 3/4 cups plain tap water, not cold, not hot, just right, Goldilocks. Mix well until it gathers into a lump. Cover with saran wrap or a heavy plate or lid. Cover to keep it dark. Leave it to sit 12-20 hours. It will have little bubbles all over the surface that indicate it's ready to use. 

Flop out the dough onto a flour covered plate or large pizza pan because you don't need to muss up your countertop, do you. I find it's easy if I tug away the dough from the bowl with a spatula. Flop onto the floured surface. Using the spatula, flip it onto itself twice, maybe thrice. Let it sit 15-30 minutes then gather it into a ball. It doesn't take much. Fold it over a couple of times gently, gently keeping all those lovely little bubbles in it. Making big bubbles is ok. I mean, just look at that bubble in the picture above. It makes a great pocket to put jam in. Really big holes and slice it and make toad-in-the-hole. Gather in your hands and begin to fold the ball of dough under itself. Place the ball with that gathered seam under in a bowl lined with parchment paper or a just well floured bowl.

Let it sit for an hour and a half. Turn on your stove to 450F and place a Dutch oven inside with its lid on. If you are using some other kind of pot, remove any lid handles that can't take the heat and block off the hole with HD AL foil. You want to keep the moisture inside by using a lid. If it means inverting a pot or using a skillet as a lid, the only consideration is that it (& its handles) is/are heat resistant in a 450F oven and that it's air tight.

Wait another 30 minutes and place the dough ball, parchment paper included, and cover the pot. No parchment paper? Toss some extra flour or corn meal / flour mix lightly into the bottom of the pot. Cook it for 30 minutes covered. Remove the lid and cool another 15 minutes uncovered at 450F.

Serve hot, warm, cold, just not more than 3 days old...unless... Older bread can frozen or toasted. There are no preservatives so the shelf life isn't like a store bought loaf.