Everything I baked for the week to feed my family of seven (Including the recipes!)
I love a good baking day! With a newborn in the house, it’s been a while since I really had a productive baking day. My mother and my cousin have kept me stocked with sandwich bread and I had been trying to keep things simple in the kitchen. But I had been longing to put my oven to work, and to give a day up to mixing dough and shaping rolls, and sitting down to a dinner accompanied by fresh bread!
Nothing helps me feel prepared for the week like plenty of bread in the freezer. We’ve gotten into a fairly regular routine with what we go through. I like to have a few recipes that I can rely on–that I know like the back of my hand, and that turn out every time. I do most of my baking primarily with fresh milled flour, but all of these recipes will work with any combination of whole wheat and white flour.
So here’s what I baked on a Monday to get us through the week, and maybe a little beyond. Let me know what you would add to your baking day!
Pancake Mix
The first thing I do at the beginning of any baking day is mill a big bowl of fresh milled flour. When I’m making a bunch a different recipes, I typically will just use hard white wheat berries for everything. This keeps it simple and the flour is a great all-purpose and bread flour.
Then, while I have plenty of fresh flour on hand, I go ahead and mix up a batch of pancake mix. This only takes a few minutes and saves so much time later on! I keep my pancake mix ready to go in the freezer and pull it throughout the week and beyond.
Sourdough Loaves
First thing, I started by mixing up a double batch of sourdough loaves. Sourdough bread isn’t what we use as our daily bread, but we still go through a couple of loaves a week. We eat it with soup, or with eggs in the morning, or really any time I need to add a little substance to a meal. I got the dough mixed, did the stretch and folds, and let it ferment throughout the day as I worked on other things. By the afternoon it was ready to shape, and I threw both loaves in the fridge to stay until I need them. I will bake them later in the week so that we have fresh bread when we need it.
Pizza Crust
Sometimes I mix up sourdough pizza crust, but I was running low on starter this particular day, so instead I made our whole wheat artisan pizza crust dough. Both are awesome, and what I love about these recipes is that, just like the sourdough loaves, I can mix the dough and let it rise, then place it in the fridge until I’m ready to make pizzas. Regardless of which recipe you use, pizza crust is best if it’s been fermenting in the fridge for a couple of days. With this dough in the fridge, I’ll have an easy dinner option later in the week.
Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread
I have tried A LOT of sandwich bread recipes and this is by far my favorite and the most reliable. Best of all, I can make up to six loaves at a time which gets us through 2 weeks. I love an artisan sourdough loaf, but for PB&Js my kids love a soft and fluffy slice of sandwich bread. If I was going to bake one thing for my family, it would be this recipe. It’s the kind of bread you’ll want to make over and over until you can throw it together with your eyes closed! And honestly, after you make it a couple of times, you’ll start to appreciate how quick and easy it comes together.
Hamburger Buns/Rolls
Hamburger buns are a great thing to have on hand for any sandwich really. We’ve been leaning heavily on chicken salad and bbq beef as of late, and buns are essential. I like to make these 50/50 whole wheat and white flour because they turn out so light and fluffy, but they are great with 100% fresh milled flour, or 100% white flour. It’s such a versatile recipe.
This week I made one batch of regular buns then made a second batch with some alterations. I subbed apple cider for the milk then added a teaspoon of cinnamon and a 1/2 cup of raisins. We ate these as a roll with dinner and they were so fun!
Whole Wheat Pasta Dough
Last but not least, I had some extra flour so I went ahead and mixed together a batch of whole wheat pasta dough. Pasta dough doesn’t have to rise. It can be mixed, kneaded, and then used right away or thrown in the fridge for later on in the week.
Final Thoughts
I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed spending the day in the kitchen, and how good it felt to end it with the freezer stocked with bread. This list will get us through this week and into the next. Baking with fresh milled flour really allows you to throw high quality carbs into each meal, knowing that they are nourishing and supporting your family.
Everyone’s baking day is going to look different. Each family has their own routines and appetites. But regardless, I think we can all benefit from giving a day over to the rhythms of bread baking and reaping the benefits. Let us know what your baking day looks like!
