I'm such a doomer....
One half of my brain tells me to master skills, like making bread by hand. In a post SHTF/TEOTWAWKI situation I wont be buying bread at a store, I'll be making it for my hungry family. So I made bread this weekend. Sure, I'd done it before, years and years ago but it was more of a "Oh can I do that" novelty thing and not so much "Master this skill so your family doesn't starve" thing. I made two types of bread, both successful in that they were bread but one was certainly better than the other.
The other half of my brain says that while there is wheat growing in Colorado right now and even if there was what are the chances that I would be able to get my hands on it. Sure, I can store some wheat and get a grinder (and I probably will at some point) but being in the suburbs means that I don't have a LOT of space, certainly not enough to grow enough wheat for my small family of 5 let alone the people I assume will be moving this way to be with us in an extended emergency. So why bother learning to make bread if I truly don't think I'll have access to wheat in the future?
That's part of the "rub" with TEOTWAWKI - how bad does it get in your mind and what will you have access to the the future if you're right?
About Me
- Lace
- Married mother to 3 children, 2 dogs and a cat. Work outside the home 8-5 in a professional career.
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8 comments:
By all means, master the skills. You might end up using acorn flour (which I'm going to try since Planet Georgia isn't exactly known for wheat production), but you'll use the skill. Besides, I think the TSHTF phase will be fairly short. A lot of the "zombies" can't be bothered to walk across a parking lot, what makes anyone think they'll be able to march 20 miles and seize someone else's stash by force?
YOU may not have access to wheat...other people may. Other people may have wheat and not know how to bake bread. That makes your skill a valuable commodity. It may be a situation where you bake the bread in exchange for, say, a leg of venison or a share of the wheat.
I have a lot of seemingly useless skills (LOL). I have no dairy cow but know how to make cheese and yogurt. I know how to work leather but don't have a source of hides.
Learning useful skills is never a waste of time...and could be extremely valuable to you in a post-SHTF world.
I think it's Hope. Ultimately I hope that if I dont have access to wheat for awhile, I may again someday. And as Far mentions, making making flour out of other ingredients will be an option.
And cheese making is on my list of things to learn. :)
You can make bread out of many different things, it does not have to be wheat. Definitely stock up on wheat but apparently you can even make bread out of Bulrush. I will keep my trusted hand grinder handy, ... just in case. Would you believe, I got mine for free by hosting a food storage party! Check out www.shelfreliancesanantonio.com. Lace, post your recipe if you have a good one. My French bread always seems to dense. What am I doing wrong? Now I am all stressed... What's life without bread!!?
Found you through the Survival Mom Blogring. I enjoyed your blog so much! I am grinding my own wheat and baking my own bread, but I hear you. Sometimes I struggle what to become proficient at next. Make cheese or canning and preserving?! I guess it's just one thing at a time! Keep prepping and come visit my little space sometime...
I'm so glad to have found your blog! Like you, I'm a suburbanite trying to figure out all the ins and outs of prepping :-)
I also found your blog through the Survival Mom Blog Ring. And as a fellow "doomer", I say carry on learning. Even if you never have to use these skills, you may find that you enjoy using them. Acorn cake is delicious, by the way.
As to what to learn next? Check out local night/weekend courses offered by the local college/university/health food store... yes, you read right, health food stores. Many natural health fans offer courses on how to make your own foods from scratch using whole grains, sprouts, home-made yogurts/soft cheeses, etc. They've got skills!
I think making bread is just a jump-off point to learning how to cook in general, but you're right to be concerned about scarcity. I think that with the wheat shortages from last years' failed harvests, we may find that TEOTWAWKI, with regard to bread and flour, may be closer than we think. It won't be that it won't be available, but that it will be expensive, and we may find that we need to be buying other things.
You should, absolutely, learn to make bread, but you should also learn to cook with other whole foods - things like pumpkin and other squashes, potatoes, dried beans and cornmeal - things that grow well in smaller spaces (like a suburban yard) and that will keep well for longer periods, but that aren't as familiar to our palates as yeast breads.
In our lower energy future, one where we're likely to experience scarcity as much due to resource depletion as to price increases, the bottom line for us will be: learn to grow food, and learn to eat what you grow. That will be our saving grace.
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