It crackles even as we speak.

This is my third loaf of bread this week. We, uh, really like it. According to the recipe, the longer the pre-made dough sits in the fridge, the more the flavor develops. When I pulled this out of the oven, I was immediately hit with a waft of fresh sourdough and the sound of the crust crackling. While I will never call any of the loaves I attempted this week bad, this one is undoubtedly the best.

I have mixed up a second batch of dough, this time using a few cups of whole wheat flavor. I've done so much baking recently, I've run out of regular all purpose.

I got in a discussion about making your own bread with a co worker this week. With the economic downturn, we're all feeling the pinch and finding places we can save money. He's interested in making bread at home to save on groceries, which is an area many of us have been hit by rising costs.

So let's break it down. That loaf of bread, which could easily cost five dollars at a store was made from:

3 cups water Water
6 cups Flour
Salt
1 1/2 packs Yeast


Yeast costs about $3 for three packets. My recipe uses 1 and 1/2.
A 5 pound bag of flour costs about $3 as well. That's about 19 cups.

Salt and water are so cheap that the price is negligible.

My ability to do the math is breaking down now, but that recipe made three loaves this week. And my house smells awesome. If that doesn't inspire you to try it, I don't know what will.