I can’t tell you how many times I have heard, “How do you do it all and have three kids?” -or- “I just don’t have time to make bread.” -or my favorite is- “One day I will have enough time in my day to make bread for my family.” Alright here is the truth. No one has “enough” time to make bread. Trying to fit bread making into your day is tricky, no matter who you are (working mom, stay-at-home mom of three small children, single working business woman, etc.). It’s all about timing. I am going to share a few baker’s tricks for those stay-at-home moms and for those working women on how to fit bread baking into your schedule. The recipe that I refer to is found here.
Stay-At-Home Mom’s
It’s all about the timing. For me, making bread is just like answering the phone. Right when I start everyone is fighting, hurt, or screaming they need help. I have to plan ahead.
Begin by figuring out how much time you need for each step.
- Mixing and Kneading – 15 minutes
- Dough to Rise – about 1 to 1-1/2 hours
- Roll out and Shape – 10 to 15 minutes
- Let it Rise – about 1 hour
- Bake – 35 minutes
You have two options . . .
One: I personally plan to mix and shape my dough at eating times, wether it be a snack time or a meal time. {This way no one is whining or hanging on my legs as I am mixing, kneading, rolling out and shaping.} I usually mix at the morning snack time, roll out at lunch and then bake at nap time. Then when they wake up warm bread is ready to be sampled.
This is me rolling out and shaping at lunch time.
Two: Do what I recommend for the working women, look below.
Working Women
Ladies you also have two options.
One: Alright ladies here is an amazing secret I learned recently. I’m so excited about this! Make your bread {or cinnamon rolls} at night and let them rise in the fridge overnight. I know . . . amazing. This way you only need to have about 1 to 2 hours at night to mix, let rise and shape the dough. Right when you wake up, pull them out of the fridge and bake.
Night Instructions:
- Mix and Knead
- Let rise for about 1 to 1-1/2 hours
- Roll Out and Shape
- Place into Bread Pan, greased
- Cover with Plastic Wrap, greased
- Place into fridge for 8-10 hours
Morning Instructions:
- Pull Out of Fridge, remove plastic wrap
- Preheat Oven and Bake
Below are a few pictures of how well bread and cinnamon rolls rise in the fridge overnight.
Night
Morning (8 hours later)
Cinnamon rolls also work amazing! No more waking up before the crack of dawn to make warm cinnamon rolls for your family. Here are some Nutella Sweet Rolls I made at night and then let them rise in the fridge overnight. They raised beautifully!
Night: Before the fridge rising.
Morning: After the fridge rising.
Two: Make several loafs over the weekend when you have time off from work. Bake all of your loaves and cut into slices. When completely cooled place loafs into freezer bags and freeze. Pull out one loaf at a time and enjoy fresh bread any day of the week.
*Bonus Tip*
I love bread hot right out of the oven, but cutting hot bread can be a complete disaster. My sister, Angie, taught me an amazing trick for cutting hot bread. Ready for it? Cut hot bread with an electric knife. No more waiting for bread to cool before cutting and sampling. Eat it hot right out of the oven!
Regular Size Chips
I wish these pictures did justice on how truly amazing the difference is from the bread knife to the electric knife.
Bread Serrated Knife
Electric Knife
Enjoy and happy baking!