I love Panera's asiago cheese bread and creamy tomato soup. But with the economy being so bad, I am trying to cook more at home. An added bonus is that with homemade goodies, I can make healthier substitutions such as whole wheat flour and ground up flaxseed for extra fiber.
So, I looked up some copycat recipes and wanted to share them with you.
First, the tomato soup recipe.
And the delicious asiago bread--a long laborious version and a quick bread machine version which is actually for asiago bagels. Cook's Illustrated also has a quick cheese bread this is worth looking into if you have a subscription.
So, now I have to think if purchasing a bread machine is worth it. I rarely make bread, but the idea of kneading sounds so satisfying. Plus I don't like having too many gadgets though I am still contemplating the health benefits of having a food processor.
4 comments:
You might save money in the long run over the good/healthy bread if you make enough dough (at home), but the biggest investment in my mind is all the time required to bake your own loaves. If I want fresh bread, I'll go buy some for a few bucks from the local fruit market or bakery/pastry shop, but this sounds just as tough as making your own noodles or pizza dough. Hopefully this doesn't come off as too confrontational, but what else could you be doing with that time -- whether with young children or something else with a higher priority? That's been something I've had to think about and ask myself quite a bit lately.
I guess cooking's not as high up on my list of things to do each week, but I suppose if you only make your own cheese bread infrequently then there wouldn't be as much of a hit on your time. Maybe I just have preconceived notions about what it takes to make your own bread... blah.
Bread machines take up too much space. If you are at home anyway, making bread is not as scary or time-consuming as you may think. Once you do it a few times, you can probably get into the flow. THe reality is though that it is actually more economical many times to buy the bread from a market because organic flour and yeast can be expensive.
We have a bread machine, and I love it. We use it weekly to make pizza dough, and lately we've been making homemade bread every week or 2. I like to think that I'm actually saving money, but I'm not sure if that's true yet :)
I thought I heard something about bread machines using a lot of electricity?
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