Which piece of marmalade-slathered bread would you rather eat?

The one on the right? It’s sliced from a commercial loaf that eerily lasts for months thanks to preservatives like calcium propionate. The one on the left?  It’s an organic, fiber-filled slice that you make at home without the hassle of measuring or kneading. And it looks pretty darn good, doesn’t it?

In my family, bread making is reserved for special holiday occasions where you can justify the lengthy labor it takes to make. But when I heard about Baked Better’s organic bread mixes, which only require you to add water and sugar, I couldn’t resist trying it out. (The package even comes with yeast—no skimping here!)

I tested their three varieties: Dumbo Delicious, a hearty multi-grain; Cobble Hill Crave, a loaf specked with cranberries, oats, and walnuts; and Park Slope Staple, a basic whole wheat bread. You can be creative with the sweetener, so I designated molasses, granulated sugar, and honey per loaf, respectively. For each batch I’d combine two cups of warm water with the flour and scooped the mixture into a loaf pan. In the next twenty minutes, the bread doubled in size and it was ready for the oven. Simple as that.

So why should you go for a mix rather than storebought bagged bread? First, if you’re a carb loader and have a sandwich every day, you’ll want a healthy slice that is packed with fiber and protein like any of Baked Better’s varieties. Second, read the ingredients on your bread. If there are tons of “stabilizers” that you can hardly pronounce, why not just make a Baked Better loaf, which only has basic ingredients (think: whole wheat flour, yeast) and is so tasty, I dare you to leave it on your counter for more than a week. Lastly, when you pop this dough in the oven and it starts to fill your place with that comforting smell of just-baked bread, you’ll realize that adding water to a dry mix isn’t a large price to pay for a warm slice of heaven.

Check out Baked Bread’s mixes ($7 each) here. 

Via: The Easiest (Organic) Bread Youll Ever Bake