National Homemade Bread Day
Invest in a bread maker or source a sourdough starter on Homemade Bread Day and bake delicious dough at home to meet all your flour and yeast “kneads”.
Sliced bread is undoubtedly a good thing – it saves time, and the effort of kneading. But it’s a real shame that so few people today get to enjoy the taste and yeasty deliciousness that is homemade bread.
And that’s where Home-Made Bread Day comes in!
History of National Homemade Bread Day
The origins of this particular Day are shrouded in mystery, but the history of bread obviously follows along with the history of humanity itself. Bread has been an important part of diet and culture and has appeared in pretty much every corner of the world in some form or another.
It is estimated that grains and cereals became an important part of the human diet long before bread came along. Bread, itself, is believed to have entered the scene perhaps as long as 10,000 years ago, during the Neolithic period in Europe. Some loaves of bread even from that long ago used the concept of retaining a piece of the previous day’s bread as a ‘starter’ in the fashion of sourdough bread.
In 79 AD, the tragic volcano eruption of Pompeii preserved the city’s ovens so that archeologists would later find them. It was discovered that the people from that time had access to bread that was baked in at least 33 different bakeries.
The invention of the bread-maker has taken a lot of the effort out of baking, meaning that there is no reason why everyone shouldn’t enjoy homemade bread, which is often of much higher quality than the stuff that can be bought in a shop. Home-baked bread is often healthier, higher in fiber, and lower in salt and additives than commercial varieties, and the recipe can be modified to suit the maker’s tastes, with grains, spices, or other additions.
No matter its form, homemade bread is absolutely delicious and deserves to be celebrated on this day!
How to Celebrate National Homemade Bread Day
National Homemade Bread Day is certainly a delicious day to enjoy! Celebrate by baking bread, eating bread, and sharing the day with a loved one. Here are some ideas for getting started:
Enjoy a Slice of Homemade Bread
It might be a full-fledged yeast bread that has been hand-kneaded to perfection, baked, then sliced, and toasted. Or it could be a variety of quick bread, such as biscuits, banana bread, or pumpkin bread. No matter what form it takes, make sure to get out a big knife, slice off a hunk of bread (or tear it off with your hands!), slather it with butter, cream cheese, or another topping, and enjoy its yummy goodness!
Make Homemade Bread
Some people can get a bit intimidated by the idea of making homemade bread. But they should remember that people have been doing this very thing in some form or another, in almost every household under the sun, for thousands of years!
Homemade bread really only requires the most basic of ingredients. A pile of strong flour, a dab of yeast, some oil, and possibly some other minor ingredients such as sugar or salt.
Homemade Bread Recipe
One super easy bread recipe calls for combining 3 ¼ cups of bread flour with 2 teaspoons instant yeast and 2 teaspoons coarse salt. Mix these together with 1 ½ cups of cool water and work with a wooden spoon or by hand until completely moistened.
Cover tightly and let it sit for 2-3 hours until almost doubled in size. Then, let it rest in the refrigerator for 12-72 hours. On a floured surface, shape into two loaves and let rest another 45 minutes. Bake at 475 F oven for 20-25 minutes.
Let it sit for just five minutes and then enjoy a delicious slice fresh out of the oven and slathered with butter!
Learn Fun Facts About Bread
Check out these fun facts related to bread and share them with friends or family members in honor of National Homemade Bread Day:
- As a wartime conservation effort, ore-sliced bread was banned in the United States for a time in 1943, in an effort to allow other work to be done. As it turned out, it wasn’t very meaningful or helpful so it didn’t last.
- In 2015, a loaf of bread baked at the Milan Expo in Italy was declared the largest in the world by the folks at Guinness World Records. It measured 400 feet long (122 meters) and was baked in a special oven. After baking, it was slathered with Nutella and served to the people at the Expo.
- In Ancient Egypt, bread was so vital to the way of life and culture that it was sometimes used as a form of currency. They also were known to place it at the head of the tombs of their dead loved ones so that they would have access to it in their afterlife.
- One Scandinavian tradition states that if a boy and a girl eat from the same loaf of bread, they are destined to fall in love with each other.
Buy a Bread Machine
Consider investing in a bread maker to include the vibe of homemade bread into your daily life. For those who aren’t sure if they will really use one, it’s a great idea to borrow a friend’s bread machine to try it out and get an idea of how it works and if it’s a realistic investment for your particular household.
Here are some suggestions for breadmakers on the market today, which might be worth checking out:
- Oster Express Bake. For those on a tight budget or who are just trying it out, this is a great low-priced machine that will still provide a good loaf of bread at home. It bakes a 2-pound loaf at a time and offers a 13-hour programmable timer. It can even bake a loaf in under an hour!
- Curtis Stone Bread Maker. This model is beloved by folks because of its ease of use. It can also make a 2-pound loaf and has 19 preset programs plus other adjustable settings.
- Zojrushi Home Bakery Virtuoso. This higher-end bread maker looks great on the counter with its stainless steel finish. Double kneading blades and rapid courses are just a couple of the many features.
Share National Homemade Bread Day
The essence of this day is best when it is shared with others. Whether baking a loaf and taking it to the office for coworkers to share, taking a bread-baking class with friends, or hanging out with grandma to have her teach you how to bake bread, this is a delightful day to enjoy with others in the community.
Make the celebration even more fun by inviting a friend or family member to join in on the experience of making bread at home. They can help measure, mix and knead, or they can just be good company while waiting for the bread dough to rise! Now it’s time to get baking for Home-Made Bread Day!
