The Bread Box

I love bread in all forms. The saying "Don't fill up on bread" was coined with me in mind. "Bread is the staff of life" has personal meaning to me. I usually answer "bread" when memed with the question "What one food would you never want to be without?"

I purchase and have more on hand than I'll ever possibly use or eat in a week. I live alone, and have a boyfriend who doesn't eat much bread. It's one of his faults. As a result, my freezer is always jammed pack with a variety of bakery products and flavored butters.

I compound by the problem by wanting to bake rolls and breads on my days off, because it's pure comfort, relaxing, and tasty. I end up with bags of rolls after I eat the first few hot out of the oven, so I developed my "personal bread basket" out of necessity.

Most of my bread ends up in the freezer and it can be irritating to pry off a few frozen pieces of bread and toast it in order to use it right away, or to over-nuke a roll to serve with dinner or pack a bento lunch.

Plus, I'm fickle in my taste. What do I want today? Brioche? Rye? Wheat? Corn? Hmm. Decisions, decisions.

Enter the Food Container. I starting using this plastic vegetable and fruit container which is intended to keep your produce fresher for a longer period of time in your refrigerator (and they do work). I keep a few rolls and a few slices of each variety of bread on hand in my Bread Box, and keep that in my fridge (I realize bread should be stored at room temperature, but I simply can't use it up quickly enough to prevent staleness or mold). The remainder of each variety stays in the freezer until it's time to remove a few slices to replenish the bread box.

This week's selections are (top to bottom, left to right) Brioche, Raisin, Slider buns, Rye, Sesame Knots. Each day I can select whatever suits my fancy from my bread box. It's a simple idea, really, but it's those simple ideas that often make us the happiest.

This makes me happy.

(Pssst. I have two more and I do the same thing with sliced deli meats in one and cheeses in the other.)