Stretch Your Meal Budget - 4 Loaves of Bread for $1

If you're living on a budget, and want to stretch your grocery budget to the furthest, try making homemade bread.

Bread is a great addition to a meal, it is incredibly filling, and can stretch your main meal even further, therefore cutting down on your overall food cost.

To get the most for your yeast cost, check out bulk food stores. I recently picked up 4 lbs of dry yeast for $4.64, which beats paying $2.79 for three packages at the grocery store!

To get the most bread for your money, try this "Family Bread" recipe, in which you can get 4 loaves of bread, for approximately 25 cents each. Save a loaf to cut fresh out of the oven, it's soooo good!

For ingredients you will need:

4 cups lukewarm water

2/3 cups dry milk powder

1/3-cup sugar (or ¼ cup honey)

2 packets yeast (or 4 teaspoons dry yeast)

1-tablespoon salt

1/3 cup melted margarine or vegetable oil

12 cups flour (white or wheat)

Mix water, dry milk and sugar in a very large bowl. Sprinkle yeast on top of mixture. Allow the yeast to dissolve some, which will take a few minutes. (you'll notice it starting to get a little bubbly)

Add salt, margarine or oil, and flour.

Mix with a spoon until it gets very stiff and then dig in with your hands and knead.

This is the part that can get hard...

You want to knead the dough for a full ten minutes. You will be sick of it, you will want to cry, you might even scream out.... But just do it! Think of how much you love your family, or how much you want to punch the guy at work, and it will go by faster and easier.

After your done kneading, put your dough into a bowl and cover with oil. Flip it around so all sides are covered, and then place a cover over it such as a table linen or dishcloth. Set it in a warm place, and let it rise for at least an hour. If it's in a cool spot, or a drafty one, it might take up to two hours.

When time is up, punch your dough down to release all the air has built up inside. Divide your dough into 4 equal lumps, and shape them into 4 very well greased loaf pans. Cover again, and let rise again until they are roughly doubled in size.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.