It's like a midlife crisis thing
Posted Nov 30, 2019, 6:43 PM UTC
4.5K145
I don't know, I'd love to make bread from scratch it's 100 times better but I don't have energy to do it
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I use this recipe. It takes like 5 minutes of active work, no kneading, and tastes so good my stepdaughter ate nearly an entire loaf by herself when she was here this week. The only times I’ve messed it up is when I didn’t measure the flour (512 grams) and tried to use olive oil to grease the baking vessel. Otherwise it’s damn near foolproof.
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You sound like a really lovely stepmom and now I want to try this recipe
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Thank you 😇
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I hope it works with vegan butter.
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https://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/italian-bread
This is my go-to recipe - I'm not even vegan, but it's so good and easy. And versatile! A little change here and you've got an amazing pizza dough. Add some herbs and it's foccacia. It does require a stand mixer, though.
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I've made several loaves of breads (though not that recipe) and have used vegan becel no problem-o.
But bear in mind I'm obviously deeply depressed and eating my feelings, so my opinions should be taken with a grain of salt.
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Can this be frozen?
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I’ve never tried it. TBH it’s kind of a small loaf and we usually eat it in a few days.
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Yes please freeze it! Whenever I make bread like this it goes stale in the fridge within 2 days, so I slice the loaf and store it in the freezer, taking out a slice as I need it and microwaving in a damp paper towel.
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Is the flour a power of 2 by design?
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I do like making bread, that's why I thought it was funny lol
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They have bread machines that will do all the work including proofing and baking. I see them in goodwill all the time or they run between 50-100$
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We have a Zojirushi bread machine. I've only ever made gluten-free bread in it (got it when my eldest was allergic to wheat), but yeah, it's pretty dang easy.
It even beeps when it's time to toss in a handful of chopped onion, or garlic, or olives to make the bread more amazing.
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for me it's not at all energy intensive. The ingredients come together pretty fast and the kneading is super meditative.
it definitely takes time out of your days though.
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I'm a big fan of this recipe for a good hearty, crusty bread that goes well with stews/gravies. It's perfect for making amazing comfort food with no/low effort.
Chuck some basics in the slow cooker in the morning, forget about it, at some point in the evening make bread, when bread is done, eat it all together.
It works really well with my depression and high stress and low energy and busy lifestyle.
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There's a book called Artisian Bread in 5 Minutes a Day. I found it helpful.
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Yup. I get the part baked ones from the shop, all the smells from the oven and none of the energy.
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I mean, there have definitely been times where the only thing I had (mental) energy for were carb-based... probably helps that I didn't have to leave my house, or even put on real pants, and one of the important steps is stay nearby but don't do anything for 1-2 hours while it roses, then again with the baking.
Also, on a more entry-level note: beer breads still taste great, but are a ton easier to plan for and put together. No yeast measuring, just a beer, flour, extra flavors (and maybe baking soda?), Into the bread pan and bake. I particularly like this NY Times recipe, but there are plenty of others online if you don't have the NYT cooking subscription/cheat arounds set up.
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I make beer bread which is beer, flour, sugar and butter.
mix beer, flour and sugar with a wooden spoon until combined in a sticky dough, throw in a loaf pan and top with melted butter.
So easy.
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Making bread from scratch has been one of the many, many hobbies I got into to distract myself when I am feeling really down. My therapist says that’s it’s a great thing to do, finding a focus outside of myself.
So to all you breadmakers, good job on getting out of bed. I mean that sincerely, sometimes it’s the hardest thing in the world to do.
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I'm in the process of finding creative hobbies as well for therapy (instead of playing video games all day). Have you found a hobby that you enjoyed doing or is it a force yourself to do smth to feel better case? Cause I, for one, don't seem to be passionate about anything, but if it's the second, I'd love to hear about easy to get into hobbies like that. Hell, I'm already thinking of joining you breadmakers.
Hope I'm making sense. 😅
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For me, sometimes the idea appeals, and sometimes I just need something to try to focus on. But doing for others has always been easier than doing anything for myself. So like, if my son wants to try something, or help with something, it’s easier to focus on that. I’ve found quite a few things that I enjoyed, but often it’s more that I enjoy giving. I’ve made bath bombs, soap, bread, dice bags, body scrubs, candles, etc. Stuff I can give away, and I do.
Is there something you like, that you might consider making for yourself? Or since it’s close to the holidays, anything you might want to make for others? I made a bunch of different dessert breads last year that we took out and gave away to some homeless people we found, the police station, and the fire station for those working Xmas day. Showing myself that I can provide something to brighten someone else’s day helps my self worth, which tends to be low. I guess it’s really about motivation and interests. I don’t know if that helps at all lol.
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That does help. You sound like a wonderful person and you inspired me a bit. Thank you :)
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Like working with yeast and grain but not that into bread? Try making beer. The silly Mr. Beer kits make a small, not very good or time consuming batch, but they're cheap and let you know if you'd like to invest more. You start out making 5 gallon batches in ale pails and bottling. Then you go all grain and a brew day becomes more of an event. Then you've built yourself a kegerator and brew once a month to keep it stocked.
It can get expensive but it's fun and yummy. I'm sure bread is much cheaper but still very yummy.
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That actually does sound fun. Thanks for the suggestion. Unfortunately I don't like drinking beer, but I do hope you inspire someone that does to pick up on it.
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What type of video games do you like to play? Maybe there is a hobby that taps into the same mechanics that drive your interest in video games?
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Allow yourself some time on this, because if you've been feeling down then a hobby will only do so much and it'll be hard to stay motivated. I like to garden, I bake and I do needlework. Hi, I'm grandma. But it does help.
I've found gardening is super helpful but I live in Canada and it's winter. So, yeah.
Baking is great not only because of the activity but because you can share. People are happy if you offer them a cookie. Friends love being given a loaf of homemade bread. And one thing that I have found does make me feel better pretty quick is strengthening or creating connections with other people.
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I started bullet journaling. Organizing and making lists is comforting for me and the possibilities for spread ideas are endless!
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OOOO that's a cool idea , I'm subscribed to r/bulletjournal and I love how creative people can get with their notes :)
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The best part is that all you need to get started is a notebook and a pen!
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Bread, or brewing beer or Kombucha. If you go sourdough starter - you need to feed it every week or two, but in return you get a massive amount of sourdough starter, and the "discard" half every week can be turned into something - pretzels, bagels, crepes, pizza dough, bread.
Other baking can work too, but bread is good because you can work out aggression while kneading dough, and the reward is something healthier than cake or cookies. (Also bread, more than the others, is something that starts as a base science that you can experiment freely with, and messing up just means you have flatbread or really thick bread for French toast.)
I personally have a loose recipe for French bread that i modify all the time, throwing in roasted garlic, sprinkling with rosemary and thyme, rolling in cinnamon and sugar.
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This is why I make bread (or kimchi or other time consuming food stuff). I enjoy cooking and when I'm feeling anxious and/or depressed it helps if i distract myself doing something like that. Bonus: tasty food to enjoy afterwards.
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Well..... I feel called out now.....😬
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selects “I’m in this picture and I don’t like it”
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As a professional baker in the midst of a depressive episode, how dare you come @ me like this!
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As a hobby Baker that perfected her banana bread to astounding limits how dare they out me without @ing me!
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Let's be honest: banana bread should be called banana cake.
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I made two loaves of it this morning—a cup of sugar and half a stick of butter each! But hey there’s fruit in it so I’m a health goddess
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My mom went vegan AND gluten-free in the hopes of alleviating some health issues. I’ve managed to finagle two “bread” recipes for her that don’t taste like gross health food (pumpkin bread and pancakes) and they have truly amazing quantities of margarine/oil and sugar in them. But for her, at least, they count as healthier. Woo!
Seriously though, looking for vegan gluten-free recipes is a chore, because all those blogs are focused on ridiculous ingredients like beet flour or chia root or coconut literally everything, and then they taste terrible. I’m sorry, but if a recipe clearly tastes vegan gluten-free, it doesn’t meet standards.
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I throw in some chocolate chips... there's still fruit though right?
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They may also be deeply poor and seeking some therapeutic kneading and accomplishment endorphins haha
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Kneading that dough, tho
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Got me through some rough spots in grad school
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When my mom divorced her husband in her 40s, she started making sticky buns from scratch, several times a week.
She released all her aggression on beating the shit out of kneading the dough.
The sticky buns were great, though.
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...I mean, I do it because I really like homemade bread and it's delicious and fun to make, but ok.
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Or they recently binge watched some great British bake off (@ me)
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This might be me if I weren't depressed~ Have been watching SO much GBBO and think it might be nice to try some baking, but the spoons just aren't there right now. Maybe someday I'll have energy again.
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Best fucking show. It’s so relentlessly pleasant
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Yeah this is me and hubs. He’s gotten into bread and me into cakes, it’s just fun. We have baking dinner parties now.
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This is why my husband picked up baking bread! We both love that show.
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Are you my FBI agent cause this callout is too well timed and specific to be coincidence
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I’m currently standing in my kitchen waiting for my bread to come out of the oven...
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Most Redditors are from the US and it's store bought bread almost always in the US and in Canada where I'm from.
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I both enjoy and regularly cook. I've baked cheesecakes and roasts and cookies and meringues. I've never baked bread and I can't for the life of me even consider trying. It seems such a daunting thing for some reason and just like outside my capability. It's illogical but thats how it is. Besides, there are a ton of places with fresh baked bread that is amazing and I can just get some. I think maybe cause like you cook in part because its cheaper and you can have control of what goes in your food and how its cooked. With bread, these people already do such an awesome job and its not very expensive anyways so why not just get theirs? I doubt I could make a very good baguette on my first 10-20 tries, ya know?
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It's the whole waking up the yeast at just the right temperature thing and like yeah you could use an oven setting and all but then it's like cheating and then you realize using an electric oven at all is cheating and you should be able to make the perfect temperature from a fire from fallen wood from scratch on your patio or you are really just a poseur and should just buy your sliced bread and "baguettes" from the store like the basic you are.
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How dare you call me out.
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I came here to argue, but nope. I apparently had 'entire adulthood depression' when I got treatment for post partum depression.
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I’m offended bread making actually takes a lot of energy and.... shit
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Lies, my sourdough is my pet
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Flour Water Salt Yeast got me started, phenomenal book, even a great video series on YT that is super helpful and 100% free.
I make more bread during the winter, where I'm generally a lot more depressed... Shit.
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That’s me but with soup. Though in my defense, it’s really not fair to expect me to look at those beautiful turkey bones from holiday meals and not want to make them into stock.
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Oh no! My husband has started making bread and I don't think he's happier any other time than when his bread turns out beautiful.
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Mine loves it too! His job has him working on months to year long projects and he loves having something he can do start to finish in a day.
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Jokes on them, last time I nurtured a sourdough culture was smack bang in the middle of a manic episode
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Thank you for the new-to-me source of ideas for what to convert to sourdough. This may or may not help my depression, but at least it pairs nicely.
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I just like bread, and baking. ADHD and anxiety, yes. Depression, no.
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Last night I snuggled my sourdough under the blanket with me to help it rise better as I depression-binged Netflix.
you have to give the yeast some love before you murder them.
I have the baked loaf stored next to the remaining starter, and now that you put it that way, it's incredibly sinister
it's not murder, they are transcending to another state of being
My two year old daughter was crying when she woke up from her nap on Thanksgiving. I handed her a crescent rolls to cheer her up. She took it and just held it against her cheek just so for quite some time. It cheered her up, just not in the way I expected it to. This was my first encounter with bread snuggling, and your comment is the second.
My friends dad once got incredibly high, asked my friend to bring him a loaf of bread, and then held it
Here's another!
Me and my italian roll will be in the fetal position till Mrs. Maisel Season 3 gets here.
You're amazing and I love you
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Turned out mad tasty, too. I highly recommend snuggling a rising dough.