Azodicarbo ..................What ??????????

Azodicarbonamide? That is an ingredient in a loaf of bread I have in our bread box. As part of my journey on getting back to a self sufficient lifestyle I am wanting to learn how to make and bake bread. Not the frozen bread dough stuff you buy in the freezer section as I can bake that up no problem, and not the bread maker electric box thing you plug in. Im a master of that already. Im talking about a REAL homemade loaf of bread that only has REAL ingredients like flour, sugar, yeast ,water and some baking powder.

If you are of my generation this is the only bread you have probably ever known, this is the only bread my children have ever known.

Well it wasnt always that way. My Grandma Doris use to bake bread on Mondays with my Great Grandma Amelia. EVERY Monday they made bread for the whole week. I know! GASP!!  I am wondering when we became ok with eating bread that contains all these chemicals that I cant even pronounce. For giggles I looked up this long word( that was one of many) on the back of the bread wrapper. Here is what I found   
                             Azodicarbonamide

"The principal use of azodicarbonamide is in the production of foamed plastics as an additive. The thermal decomposition of azodicarbonamide results in the evolution of nitrogen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and ammonia gases, which are trapped in the polymer as bubbles to form a foamed article. Common examples of this application are window and door gaskets, padded floor mats, gym/exercise mats, shoe soles, etc"

The last line really shocked me SHOE SOLES!!! What???? I am afraid to even look up any of the other ingredients listed. Truth is we are eating alot of things that arent food. Yeah its great that we live in a time of convenience and an abundance and variety of different foods but at what price? What do all these chemicals that are added to our food to make them look pretty and prolong their shelf life do to our bodies over time? When did we allow this and make it acceptable? I think its because we dont know what we are eating anymore. Well for this girl thats just more motivation to learn how to bake a loaf of bread, dont get me wrong I have tried,MANY times. It looks like bread, even smells heavenly of bread but  always had the weight of a brick :)   My Grandma Adeline was a wonderful bread maker, I hear stories of her perfectly baked rolls. Unfortunately she lived  far away from me and I never really got the chance to learn her secrets. A few years ago my cousins put together a cook book in my Grandma Adeline's memory. She was a mother of 14 children FOURTEEN! I dont know how she did it. One of my favorite quotes of my Grandma Adeline about baking was "Its not always about the ingredients in the recipe,its about the love that you put into your baking"
              That must be my problem I forgot to add the love

Next trip to the store Im stocking up on yeast and I am gonna use my Grandma Adelines recipes and bake the best loaf of bread ever. It might take me a few tries and possibly a few "bricks" later but I am determined. If I get good at it I might even be able to make cinnamon rolls HOMEMADE!!., No more of the kind in the rolled up tube you open with a spoon.  Now that I think of it I havent checked the ingredients on that can. Im almost afraid to. Nothing that delicious can come from a cardboard tube without consequences. 
                                 If you get bored someday look up some of those long, words you cant pronounce ingredients  just for giggles. I bet you will be surprised at what you are REALLY eating.
                            
       I dont think I have every seen the word "LOVE" listed as an ingredient on anything  bought at the store.



                       In memory of my Grandma Adeline

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azodicarbonamide