I’m three weeks into this month’s challenge and it’s time to take stock of how all the activities are going. Overall, I would say the plastic-free bread challenge is going… Okay.
Some things are going well with the challenge but others are taking longer to figure out than I originally planned. My biggest concern is that I don’t know how sustainable any of my new habits for bread and baked goods really are. I’ve got a time slot on my calendar now for baking once a week. I’ve also found a place to buy sourdough bread… It’s the results of my baking that I’m not thrilled about. And the bakery I found is at the farmers market, which will be ending here next month.
What hasn’t been going great
I’ve been trying different GF sandwich bread recipes and they’ve been coming out okay, but not great. I try to give each recipe 2 attempts to account for mistakes on my end. Right now, it looks like I’ll be testing different recipes for a while. Nothing against the recipes themselves, it’s more a matter of personal preference. And the fact that I can’t use eggs because of allergies and that’s impacting the results.
On that note, I’ve already used up my bagged bread quota for this month. I bought one loaf of bread from the store, which comes in a plastic bag, at the beginning of this month. I also pulled out a package of tortillas from the freezer to help get me through the bread challenge while I figure out my bread-making schedule. I’ve been so focused on making the bread that I still haven’t tried making anything else, like tortillas or naan.
What has been working well for the bread challenge
I used a cloth bread bag to get bread at the farmers market! Nothing needed to be weighed, so it was actually quite simple. Since I store my bread in the bread bag inside my breadbox, I decided it might be a good idea to have more than one bread bag. While I still intend to make one, I went ahead and bought one at my nearest zero-waste store. I know myself well enough that I don’t want to put myself at a standstill just because I didn’t finish a project in time.
The next thing on the to-do list is to see if I can bring my own bread bag to Panera Bread (a nation wide bakery/cafe chain). We don’t have a regular winter market in my area and the small local bakeries focus on desserts, not breads. So come winter, I’ll need to know what my other bread-buying options are. I keep wondering if it would be easier for me to just keep buying bread and focus on making other baked goods, or visa versa… We’ll see how things go.
Revisiting last month’s challenge with the deli meats and cheese
So far I’ve been sticking with the better habits I established with last month’s challenge. I still have hummus left over from the first batch I made (it’s currently in the freezer). I found I actually like my Beef Salad and Curry Chicken Salad recipe on rice as well as in sandwiches or pitas.
When I get deli meat, I get it from the deli counter. That way they can put it in butcher paper and I can get enough to last the month. When I get the deli meat home, I portion it out and use the butcher paper to separate and wrap the meat and put it in another container for freezing. I’m very much in the habit of using block cheese now. Thanks to my mason jar cheese shredder I always have shredded cheese on hand.
What I hope to accomplish by next week for the bread challenge
By next week, my einkorn (please see note) sourdough starter should arrive. So I’m looking forward to trying to make my own sourdough. I also hope to finish making a bread bag for this month’s craft. Between now and next week, I’ll focus more on making flatbreads, like tortillas and naan, instead of the sandwich breads like I’ve been doing. I also need to find long-term options for buying bread and other baked goods.
- Einkorn is a species of ancient wheat. It is not a Gluten-Free flour but can be a possible alternative for gluten-sensitive people. Please note that this statement is not in any way intended as medical advice and is merely my own opinion based on what I’ve read on the subject.
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