You might think it ridiculous that I’m posting a peanut butter and jelly sandwich here. I mean, really, who doesn’t know how to make a PB&J? But this version just so happens to be made entirely from scratch. I’m talking homemade white sandwich bread, freshly ground peanut butter, and homemade strawberry jam (plain-ass strawberry jam, if you were curious). Sure, we’ve taken a 3-minute snack and turned it into a 3-hour one, but it’s kind of cool to see the whole process from start to finish, without buying anything pre-made in a jar or bag. Pretty much the only thing we didn’t do was grind our own flour (that’s just taking it too far, in my opinion).
The whole thing was Taylor’s idea, really. Since I was taking care of the jam and the peanut butter (which we had previously made in our Vitamix for some pretty awesome pie), I told him the bread was entirely his responsibility.
After scouring the internet for the ‘perfect’ recipe, comparing recipes for wheat and white and pullman and potato (and various iterations of each), I think the final result is pretty darn perfect. Slightly crustier than wonder bread, but with a soft and tender center and beautiful even crumb, there’s no denying it’s a beautiful loaf. He thought so too, apparently, not-so-modestly declaring himself “a bread man” after pulling the second near-perfect loaf out of the oven.
Nowadays where everything can be bought so easily and cheaply, we often forget that it’s not only possible, but downright delicious to make everyday staples from scratch. From bread to peanut butter, almond milk to spicy mustard, the value of homemade isn’t in saving time or money (actually it’s rarely either), but rather in knowing exactly what went into that loaf of bread. Flour, yeast, salt, milk. No stabilizers or unpronounceable mystery chemicals. In this case a little bit of effort goes a long way in the end. After enjoying a sandwich made completely from scratch, you may just say it’s the best thing since sliced homemade bread. Total Time: 3 hours
