Frugal February- homemade sandwich buns

Linking to Friday Finances at Renaissance
I like to make bread and am trying to make 100% of our bread in 2014 at home.  Except for a tiny free loaf of Sicilian bread we got last week from a new food truck business,  we have had only homebaked bread.

We like loaves of bread but they do get dry really fast so for sandwiches, we prefer homemade buns.  They seem to stay soft and less crumbley for a lot longer than sliced bread.

This is how I make them......
I mix and knead the dough in a bread machine.  It can also be mixed in a heavy mixer or by hand.
Then I take it out after the kneading is done and let it rise in a big oiled bowl.   In this picture, that is 2 batches of dough.  As soon as the first batch is ready, I put the dough in a big bowl and start a second batch. 

Let the dough rise until it is doubled or more in size. 

Then roll out the dough on a floured surface- maybe 1/2 -3/4 inches thick.  This just depends on how thick you like your sandwich buns.
I have 2 round cutters,  I think the bigger one is 4 inches and the other one  is a bit less than 3 inches. 

Cut out the buns and put them on baking sheets. 
I use well-seasoned stone ware. 
if you bake them on a plain metal cookie sheet,  you will need to grease the sheet or those buns will stick while baking. 

Let the buns rise for about 1/2 an hour and then bake.  No matter the recipe,  I bake mine at 375 degrees and check after 15 minutes.  Sometimes they take just a few more minutes to get golden brown.

Let the buns cool- you can put them on a cooling rack if your prefer.  I don't usually but sometimes I do. 

When cool, each bun gets sliced with a bread knife.  I slice almost all the way but leave about 1/2 inch unsliced.  That way,  you can still open them up but the tops and bottoms don't get separated.

 Bag up the buns and freeze the ones that won't be eaten in a day or two.

When you need bread,  just take out however many you need.  They thaw quickly. 

This works for small households like we are now.  When we have company and when our children were younger,  fresh homebaked bread was eaten way too fast to even think about freezing it.

I think most any  bread recipe that is good as a loaf can also be rolled out and baked as good sandwich buns.

Here is how I make them with fresh ground whole wheat.

My Grandparents Bread recipe when I first blogged about it

they used this recipe to make loaves of bread as well as lots of buns for sandwiches

Grandpa's Bread2 cups warm water
1 package yeast
1 t salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup oil - they used Wesson or Crisco oil - I used melted butter
about 6 cups of flour - they used all-purpose flour, I used 2 cups of whole wheat and 4 cups of unbleached
dissolve the yeast and sugar in the warm water. Then stir in the salt, oil and most of the flour. Mix well, then knead until you have a smooth dough. They kneaded it all by hand, I let my Kitchenaid mixer do most of the work or I would make a 1/2 recipe at a time let the bread machine do the kneading.
Let dough rise in an oiled bowl, covered with a clean kitchen towel, until at least double in size.
Punch down. Divide in 2. Shape into loaves and place in greased bread pans.
Let rise again, until at least double.
Bake at 375 for 35-45 minutes. 

Our current favorite bun recipe

1 C water

1 egg well beaten

2 T butter

2 T sugar

3 T dry milk

1 t salt

3 1/4 cup all purpose flour

1 1/2 t yeast

add all to the breadmaker bowl in this order and set on knead cycle- check midway through mixing as you may need  to add 2-3 T more flour. 

This Honey Oatmeal Bread at AllRecipes.com also makes delicious buns but I have not been baking it for a few months as our youngest grandchild really likes homemade bread but he can't have honey until after his first birthday. 

Where we live,  flour is cheapest at Aldi.  Yeast is cheapest at Sams.  It comes in a twin pack of vacuum packed 1 pound bags.  I keep the yeast in the freezer, the opened one gets pour in a jar with a tight lid.  It keeps in freezer for a long time too and will still be active way past that date they put on the packages. 

So,  go bake some buns when you have time.  They are delicious and easy and your family will be so happy.  And you will spend much less on homemade buns than what store buns would cost. 

Economizing steps

It's been a while since I did a strictly frugal doings post.  Prices seem to be going up on almost everything,  summer is here and that means big air conditioning bills,  and we've had a few unexpected expenses so I've  got penny pinching on my mind.  

Here are some things I did this week that help cut costs a little.  

I cut out and sorted the Sunday paper coupons.  Then I looked through this weeks grocery sale ads to check for good deals, then made a list of these sales and put it in my purse with the coupons. 

I don't print off lots of coupons but I did see one for $1.50 off Snasauges -Theo's new favorite snack - and printed off 2 of them.  

We have 2 empty bedrooms that mostly get used when we have company.    No visitors  are here so I shut the  vents and shut the doors to these rooms.
Now when the AC is running,  that cold air is shared with fewer rooms and it should cost a little less.  

Laundry - I usually machine dry clothes for just a few minutes,  then hang them up on hangers and the small things get put on a drying rack.  It seems like just a short machine drying keeps the clothes softer and less wrinkled than straight air drying alone.  

I mixed up a batch of bread dough in the bread machine on Tuesday.  I  baked it  in the oven  -
divided into one small loaf of bread,  5 hot dog buns and 4 sandwich rolls.
We had hot dogs Tuesday for supper.
The sandwich rolls went in Jeff's lunch.
Part of the sliced bread was used for breakfast toast
and I used the last 5 slices to make croutons for salad.  

I happily accepted cucumbers and big tomatoes from Gavin's other grandpa's garden.  

Supper on Thursday night was one of Jeff's favorites - Mexicalli pie.
For the corn chips,  I used the last of the tortilla chips crumbs that accumulate in the chip container.
Since it was just Jeff, Gavin and me for supper,  I made a half-recipe and baked it in a pie pan in the toaster oven,
toaster ovens use less power than the big oven.  

To go with the Mexicalli Pie,  I made a big salad.
While I had out the cutting board and knife,  I also cut up a container of veggies for Jeff's lunch box.
I used lots of fresh tomatoes, green peppers from our garden, and cucumbers.  

All vegetable peels were saved and put in the backyard composter.

We had some bills that needed paid this week - I use the free online bill pay that our credit union offers.  

I love it!  it is so much easier and quicker than writing out paper checks and mailing them.  

We like sharp cheddar cheese.  We buy the 2 pound blocks at Sams, for about $4.75.
I just grate and slice it myself.
The Sam's cheese cost about 1/2 compared to grocery store cheese.

See the cloth napkins stacked behind Gavin?

I've been washing dishes by hand this week - when we have company,  I use the dishwasher.
But hand washing seems quick when we just have dishes for 2 or 3 of us.
And it is so much quieter and more peaceful when the dishwasher is not running for an hour.

frugal back yard fun!
Jeff found this pool last year on clearance for $5 at Aldi.
Gavin and Elizabeth have lots of fun in it.  

Ulta just opened in my town.
Today, they had gift certificates for the first 100 customers and gift bags for the first 1000.
My daughter wanted to try so we met up there just before the opening and got in the line.
She got a $25 certificate and I got $10.  The man in front of me got $50.
Ulta is very generous I think!
On the left in the picture,  I got 2 mascara and 1 lipstick and spent about $2.
On the right are the products from the gift bag.

Gavin did not get a certificate but he did get a gift bag to take to his mom.  

These are all typical activities for me. 

 I would love to hear what you are doing to stretch your finances.  

Cinnamon rolls and buns from Grandpa's bread recipe

I made another batch of Grandpa's Bread yesterday.    Instead of baking it as loaves,  I made buns and cinnamon rolls. 

For the cinnamon rolls,  I rolled half of the dough, spread it with 3 T of softened butter, then sprinkled it heavily with cinnamon sugar.  I keep cinnamon sugar mixed up in a shaker for making cinnamon toast and cinnamon rolls. It is about 1 cup of sugar mixed with 3 t of cinnamon.  I don't use the whole container, I just shake it on until it looks well covered.

I also added some chopped walnuts to this batch.  Then just roll them up and slice to the size rolls desired. 

4 hamburger buns and 5 hotdog buns, cut from the other half of the recipe.  In case you are wondering,  I used about 2 cups of whole wheat flour and not quite 4 cups of white flour for this batch of bread dough, 

The rolls look little before the yeast has time to rise.

So, they rested under a towel for about an hour or more.  I think the whole wheat version takes longer to rise than when all white flour is used.

all baked and cooled. 

The cinnamon rolls got a little frosting and more walnuts on top. 

We had burgers for supper last night and for lunch today. 

Most of the cinnamon rolls and the hot dog buns went in the freezer for future meals.

My friend Terri who you probably know as Penny Ann Poundwise made some beautiful loaves of bread from this recipe and posted them  here. 

Here are my grandparents on their 33rd anniversary.

Tightwad October Day 6

this is pretty much a repeat of a post I did back in March.  Several of you asked about this recipe and I did not realize it was so long ago that I first posted it.  This is for sure a tightwad recipe,  it uses just regular ingredients that I think most cooks keep in their kitchen.  The actual work time to make this is just 15 minutes,  it does have to rise twice so you need to be home keeping an eye on it but not much effort at all.
I use this recipe for everyday bread loaves.  Sometimes I roll it out and cut it in circles for sandwich buns.  Tonight, we had some of these buns from the freezer.  I cooked small hamburger patties and we had sliders for supper. 

this is my grandparents at a picnic.  Grandma is the first woman in the left.  Grandpa is wearing a hat.  The 2 pretty women beside Grandpa are my Aunt Evelyn and Aunt Bernice.  Look at all the "real" dishes on this table.  They are even drinking from real glass tumblers! 

Grandpa's Bread


This is the recipe for my grandparents daily bread. Both Grandma and Grandpa were the best bakers and I learned how to make this bread from Grandpa.

It's just about the simplest bread recipe I've ever come across. And the best tasting. No fancy ingredients or equipment needed.

This bread is perfect for breakfast toast, sandwiches and just eating with any meal


Grandpa's Bread

2 cups warm water
1 package yeast - or a scant T of yeast
1 t salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup oil - can use melted butter but I usually use oil
about 6 cups of flour - I usually use white but can use a combination of whole wheat and white
dissolve the yeast and sugar in the warm water. Then stir in the salt, oil and most of the flour. Mix well, then knead until you have a smooth dough. My grandparents  kneaded it all by hand, I let my Kitchenaid mixer do most of the work

Let dough rise in an oiled bowl, covered with a clean kitchen towel, until at least double in size.

Punch down. Divide in 2. Shape into loaves and place in greased bread pans.

Let rise again, until at least double.

Bake at 375 for 35-45 minutes.

Edie posted here where she baked this recipe
and  Joyful blogged here where she baked it.
so if you are looking for a good basic old fashioned bread to bake,  you might want to try this one.  It is our favorite. 
And as I type this,  our son just got home from law school and is eating some of the leftover sliders on buns.  He looks pretty happy about it too. 

once a week baking

well, I hope this baking will last a week but you never know! Jeff likes toast every morning for breakfast and Jimmy is here for the summer, he really likes sandwiches.
Yesterday, I made 2 recipes of my Grandpa's bread. One recipe was baked into 5 small loaves.

See, I don't always use Pyrex. I've had this Pampered Chef pan for several years and tend to use it spurts, then store it back in the bottom of the cabinet for a year or so.


The second batch of dough was made into sandwich buns and hot dog buns. I slice them with a serrated knife almost in half before storing away, that way they are easy to open up but the tops don't get separated from the bottoms if they are still slightly attached.

I also made a batch of pizza dough and am trying freezing the dough balls. The theory is to freeze the dough, then on the day of pizza making, let the dough thaw and rise in the fridge all day before making pizza that night.
I oiled each ball with olive oil, then put them in twist tie bags so they could expand a little without popping the bag as they froze.

Then I put the balls into a freezer bag for better freezer protection.
I'll let you know how they work out.

Grandpa's Bread

This is the recipe for my grandparents daily bread. Both Grandma and Grandpa were the best bakers and I learned how to make this bread from Grandpa.
It's just about the simplest bread recipe I've ever come across. And the best tasting. No fancy ingredients or equipment needed.
This bread is perfect for breakfast toast, sandwiches and just eating with any meal.

Grandpa's Bread
2 cups warm water
1 package yeast
1 t salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup oil - they used Wesson or Crisco oil - I used melted butter
about 6 cups of flour - they used all-purpose flour, I used 2 cups of whole wheat and 4 cups of unbleached
dissolve the yeast and sugar in the warm water. Then stir in the salt, oil and most of the flour. Mix well, then knead until you have a smooth dough. They kneaded it all by hand, I let my Kitchenaid mixer do most of the work
Let dough rise in an oiled bowl, covered with a clean kitchen towel, until at least double in size.
Punch down. Divide in 2. Shape into loaves and place in greased bread pans.
Let rise again, until at least double.
Bake at 375 for 35-45 minutes.

Here's my dough after the first rising, I even have their Pyrex bowl.

my 2 loaves baked

A loaf of bread lasts about 3 days with Jeff, Theo and I. I sliced both loaves, put them in Tupperware, and put the second loaf in the freezer for later in the week.

Linked up to Gayles Grocery Cart Recipe Challenge