How to Make Buns (Bread-Rolls) At Home Easily Using a Breadmaker (avoid the plastic bags from buying them in a grocery store)

I use a breadmaker to make our daily bread - just to avoid the millions of plastic bags. BUT in doing so, we often have the smell of fresh bread in our home, can add cool ingredients to the bread. Also, we know what we are eating.

So that's the bread - BUT my husband also likes to get those really fluffy white buns with sesame seeds on the top, which happen to be sold in non-recyclable clear plastic bags. Living sustainably shouldn't have to mean losing out on things like fluffy buns - at least, sacrificing all the time will mean that my family will revolt. So, I schemed a way to regularly have buns without all the plastic. And a realistically easy way as well - breadmakers take all the time out of kneading the bread and waiting for it to rise - something you do twice with bread-rolls.



You will need:
4 tsp yeast
450g white flour (I replace 25g with this with wheat germ, makes it healthier)
1 tsp salt
4 tbsp milk powder
4 tbsp butter (or margarine)
1.5 tsp sugar
270mL water
Permanent items:
1 good quality breadmaker (It's worth getting good tools, trust me.)
1 scale

Do this:

Measure ingredients and throw them in the breadmaker metal tin. (Make sure you have the kneading blade in first - I have actually forgotten this a few times after cleaning it.)

Set your breadmaker on the appropriate "dough" mode. My dough mode takes 2 hours and 20 minutes.

After the dough is done, it will have risen in the doughmaker. Either right away or within a couple of hours, throw some flour onto a surface, and throw the dough onto it. Skwoosh it down, making sure the flour touches the sticky dough before your hands. Knead it and punch it down and cut off bits with a plastic spatula, or with your hands, and make little balls. I place them into a greased pan with sides so they can rise up contained, not just splatting out in every direction, similar to the ones you buy bagged at the store. I fit eight balls into each large bread loaf tin.

Then you cover them with either a plastic bag you are trying to get rid of, which is greased, or you could use tin foil - or paper - something so that the balls don't dry out as they are rising again. Let them rise to double the size (could be half an hour, or more).

Then you brush beaten egg on the tops, and throw some sesame seeds all over them (the egg will stick them on), and bake them. They will bake quickly - 180 degrees Celsius for 10-20 minutes or until golden brown.

They will be just as good, or better than those "boughten" rolls!

Horrified by the mountain

...of crap that came with our new dryer. AND the mountains of cling-film that came with our new couch. I didn't expect it, so it wasn't avoided. I would rather the couch had come dented and dirty, truly. But worse than a huge ball of cling film was the mound of polystyrene ("styrofoam" in Canada). That stuff never goes away (doesn't break down). I find it almost criminally irresponsible that it is still used.

Step 1. Phoned the appliance store that sold me the dryer to ask if they would take back the polstyrene. They wanted to help, but would only throw it in the rubbish instead of me. They said that the manufacturer wouldn't reuse it.

Step 2. Researched alternative places that would recycle it. There were only two places locally. One was Expol, which makes and installs polystyrene insulation under floors.

At first I was going to take it there, but now I am having second thoughts. Why contribute to a business that creates more of the same problem? We don't need polystyrene under floors either, where it will also one day be a waste problem.

Step 3 is going to be calling Haier directly, and asking them to take back their perfectly "good" horrible packing material. If they don't take responsibility for it, I can start communicating with them and making some small change there.

Small change, anyone? Watch this mountain.

Update 16 August 2012.I ended up getting tired and overwhelmed, and...I should have done something about it, but I just wanted you to know I actually didn't.

Companies are changing though, so if I ever do get a new appliance (which I will, we will need a better water saving washing machine, and dishwasher at some point since we live on tank water), I will stop it at the source and tell them I don't want the packaging. I can at that point make sure the action is accompanied with letter or even a Facebook comment. I have helped create action with Pak'N Save before by nagging on Facebook from time to time (about Fair Trade bananas). There is nothing wrong with communication structures like Facebook for companies to communicate with the public. Then, actually, their marketing communications team has to figure out how to respond to it officially - which is a good thing.

In fact - I should make a comment right now...far easier than writing letters (and more effective too).




I did it! http://www.facebook.com/liveahaierlife

How hard was that? Posted the photo above, and: "Sorry - just had to pass something on. I got a Haier dryer last year - which is working great, thanks. Just was wondering if there was an option in future to give back all the polystyrene or program to recycle it? Just not very good from a waste (environmental) perspective."

It's good to be nice. If it's not said with love, would you listen?


17 August 2012

Hey, they got back to me!

"Hi Nonavee, in NZ most retailers have some form of recycling available at their warehouse operations. We are more than happy to accept your packaging at our locations in Auckland or Christchurch (13 Kerwyn Ave, East Tamaki Auckland or 79 Shands Road Hornby, Christchurch) and will recycle the packaging and old Haier appliances as well if required. :) Hope this is helpful."

That is great. If only I contacted them directly at the time. I could have shipped it or taken it over there... which although it's a pain in the butt would assist in their process of learning to deal with it. Next time -