The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

How to STOP baking?

Pablo's picture
Pablo

How to STOP baking?

Stop me before I bake again!  The freezer(s) are full.  I've got to stop baking and do some eating for awhile.  It's been 3 days and I'm getting itchy.  I use wild yeasts only so I dried and froze my starters.  That helps, but I know I could thaw them out pretty quickly.  I've even been thinking about a poolish...  Reading bread books inflames me.  Reading all the cool stuff people are doing on The Fresh Loaf inflames me.  Eek!  Must be strong.  Think of all the things I can bake once I've got some freezer room again...

:-Paul

Janknitz's picture
Janknitz

It's embarassing that I had to ask my husband's help to stuff the freezer full of Sunday's baking--three challahs (they were small, I swear!) and a fairly big loaf of "heart of wheat" bread (Rose Levy Berenbaum). 

OK, and three parbaked pizza shells. 

And a dozen (or so) teeny weeny little english muffins.

And a few containers of homemade yogurt culture (it just adds fuel to the baking fire) 

There's no room for the ice anymore.

Or frozen waffles (Eggos) and Pancakes (homemade) for my kids to eat for breakfast.  If you hear of an explosion here on the west coast, it'll be me trying to stuff something else in there. 

HEEELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

pmccool's picture
pmccool

However, if not:

Option 1: stop baking until freezer contents are depleted

Option 2: keep baking but give away everything fresh until freezer contents are depleted

Option 3: check with a local shelter to see if they can accept home-baked goods; if yes, transfer freezer contents to shelter and/or keep baking and give to shelter

Option 4: thaw out the frozen goods and hand out to local homeless individuals wherever you find them

Option 5: feed your friends and fatten your enemies

Under no circumstances buy more/bigger freezers; it just promotes the vicious cycle.

Paul

SylviaH's picture
SylviaH

Thank you, Paul!  Oh, I never thought of that..I feel better now not owning an extra freezer for the two of us!  But it is so tempting!  That space in the garage!

Sylvia

sephiepoo's picture
sephiepoo

I seriously lol'd when I read your post, only because it's so true!

Great points, Paul! Check with your local kitchens if you feel like you may want to donate your amazing bread. Chances are, they'd be more than happy to take it.  The one here in Dallas is so excited to be getting my extra loaves (not sure why!) but I'm glad it's going to someone who can use it and not drying out in my (stocked) freezer or stale-ing elsewhere. (DF just corrected me, saying "stale" is not a verb, but I feel like we should officially make it one here)

Pablo's picture
Pablo

Thanks for some great ideas.  Practice random acts of giving away bread.

:-Paul

althetrainer's picture
althetrainer

<<feed your friends and fatten your enemies>> that's what I have to do!  I am lucky because there are a few families willing to pay for my breads.  Yet, I still have a freezer full of breads!

Stephanie Brim's picture
Stephanie Brim

I'd be damn well pleased. I'm having trouble mustering up the energy lately to keep my starter going, much less mix up a loaf of bread. I'm starting a baking journal in the hopes that seeing things written down on paper will inspire me. I made a cherry pie today and it was the first baking I've done in a good long while.

I somewhat wish that I had this problem.

As it stands, though, by the end of August I'm going to have an abundance of tomatoes. Have I changed insanities? Will the huge quantities of juicy red fruit prompt me to prepare sourdough ciabatta for BLTs? Or maybe a buttermilk burger bun? Could there be a sun dried tomato focaccia in my future? Perhaps pizza margherita? Only the bread gods know what lies ahead.

;)

Pablo's picture
Pablo

Ummmm... sourdough ciabatta BLT.... ummmmmm....

:-Paul

Stephanie Brim's picture
Stephanie Brim

EVIL! My tomaotes aren't ready yet and, trust me, the tomatoes I can get at the stores around here aren't worth picking up for BLTs. So I'm putting this one at the back of my mind for a week or two.

I did get some really nice cherry tomatoes, though.

Paddyscake's picture
Paddyscake

is a great thing to do. Perhaps to slow down your bread cycle you can start putting up some jams and jellies and then proceed back to those luscious danish you made not so long ago!

Betty

BreadintheBone's picture
BreadintheBone

When I lived in an apartment in New York City, I baked every other night. What I didn't eat myself, I usually took across the street to the local bar.

Bartenders in New York get pretty hungry around 11:00PM, and a warm loaf of fresh bread is gratefully received. After a little while, they bought a cutting board, a bread knife, butter and a butter knife. And I never paid for beer again.

I'm afraid I gave my less-than-perfect loaves to the homeless. They didn't seem to worry that the oven spring hadn't been perfect or that the texture was denser than I'd hoped. It was never refused.

All my friends had fresh bread; sometimes I'd just hang a bag from their doorknob, if they were out.

New York City is a lot friendlier than most people think.

Janknitz's picture
Janknitz

That when our garden produces an overabundance of tomatoes or zuchinni it's hard to give those away.  You practically have to drop it on people's doorsteps, ring the bell, and run!

No such problem with homemade bread.  People are always happy to take some off your hands.  Leave a loaf on the office kitchen counter to share, and it disappears in moments.

So baking has it's advantages.  

Now, RCrabtree, are you going to start baking breads with your spent grains?  When my husband was still homebrewing, we often did that--it's yummy!  Hah--it's takes a lot of beer to make good bread! 

jannrn's picture
jannrn

Hello.....I am Jannrn and Im a Breadaholic......are yall sure this works???? I am in South Florida with an ABUNDANT amount of fresh fruits and veggies to go on my fresh breads.....today I have to make cookies to keep my fella from coming home with a huge bag of those chemical filled patties from the store....not looking forward to that...BUT the good news is I need to make a loaf of SOMTHING (HEHEHE) for sandwiches.....AND I am going to SC this weekend to see my sweet mother and fetch my daughter and grandson for a visit....WOO HOO!! (Cough Cough) So I need to make something to take to my mom.....Hmmm....hadn't thought about BLT on Ciabatta......I have recieved 2 new Cookbooks just this week and more are on order....Heeeelllllpppppp!!!! I have been out of work with an injury and surgery on a knee so I have actually hobbled around the kitchen on a crutch!!!!! Again I pose the question...."ARE YOU SURE THIS WILL HELP?????" Oh and did I mention I just made fresh yogurt yesterday......?

MommaT's picture
MommaT

...also a bakeaholic.

I cleverly disguised the need to store my habit by planting a large vegetable garden this year.  How, you may ask, did this help?

Well, my husband was all too keen to buy a chest freezer to store the (hopefully) large crop of vegies we will harvest.  Now I can bake bread, bagels, english muffins, cookies, etc. to my heart's content.  Good thing, too!  The shelves in the basement are getting full with all the nice spring/summer jams!

Good luck, Pablo!

MommaT

MJO's picture
MJO

You guys are hilarious!  Quite entertaining while I wait for my yummy braided loaf to rise (seasoned with Garlic cloves and Italian seasoning). 

salma's picture
salma

Paul

I am also hooked on baking breads and NEED  to bake at least twice a week.  If I didnt control myself I could be happy baking every day.  As I am reading this, I just took out EKBM from the oven and the loaves look fantastic, for my baking at least.  I so look forward to receiving the email every day and cant stop reading every bit and the dialogues back and forth.  I still have to read carefully how to post pictures, which I will do soon.  I try to keep a log of all my breads and take pictures even though I am not a good photographer.  I always give away one loaf to a friend or to any friends visiting.  My friend complains about how fast her husband will fix things for me while her or her other friends' jobs will sit around.

Great work all you guys who experiment with different recipes.

Salma

ebbylove's picture
ebbylove

I'm now in the same boat as most of you, its so nice to be a part of the same club I must say, but wow, its totally consuming and I think its weirding my friends and family out a lil bit... luckily, I powerlift and work out a TON... so I have the appetite and enjoy gorging on my bread, it rarely makes it past day 2 with my toddler sharing it with me, heheheheheh.... twitchy right now just thinking about it, maybe I'll go start a sponge and bake late at night tonight while I do laundry! :D