Bread Baking

In my quest to lower my family's expenses and raise our level of health, I am trying to bake my own bread. I've only done it a few times, but I'm getting the hang of it, and it tastes soooooo good fresh out of the oven, with butter.

Tonight I used my bread machine that I got at a yard sale for the first time. It's baking now, so we'll find out. Unfortunately I started it so late, that I'll have to get up at 4:30 am to take it out, in order to have a crisp crust rather than a soggy one. I hope it turns out well.

I probably won't use the machine often. I like the idea of making it by hand, plus with a bread maker you can only do one loaf at a time. I'd like to make 5-6 at a time, and freeze the extra. Tomorrow my husband is baking a bunch of stuff so I'll have a freezer full of baked goods for snacks and easy meals once he goes back to work. We're planning on making some sweet breads, muffins, bread, and breadsticks. And knowing him, a cake! Well, HE'S making it. I'll be resting in my chair...at least that's the plan...I haven't truly rested much this week! I'm hoping to get up the strength to fold some laundry tomorrow. I'll let him put it away though. Oops, I've gotten way off-topic! ;-)

Back to the bread...can anyone tell me what freezing does to it? Is it still pretty good when you thaw it? I know store bread seems the same, and although I'm sure homemade bread won't be as good as fresh-from-the-oven, I'm wondering if it's still as good as next-day bread. What do you knead your bread on? My mom has a big pastry board she uses for pie crusts. I wish I had one to try for breads. When I use my countertop, it seems to stick a lot, and I end up putting in too much flour to keep it from sticking.

I think bread making is an art, but my last loaf was pretty good, so it's not too hard. Once I find a recipe I prefer to others, I'll have to run an analysis on how much it costs to produce. I'll be using organic ingredients, which raise the price, but I still think it's cheaper. And a heck of a lot cheaper than buying organic bread--it costs almost four dollars for a tiny loaf!!!