Testing out Pampered Chef’s Italian Herb and Sourdough bread mix

I am not a fan of making bread. It’s probably due to my lack of patience and my desire for instant gratification. I can’t bring myself to spend an entire day making bread even if the amount of time spent actually handling the bread is super low. I would rather bake just about anything else even though that doesn’t make a lot of sense. I always have to talk myself into making bread because it really is low effort, especially with a box mix, but it still takes hours to complete.

When I was in culinary school we worked in partners and had multiple recipes to make each lab day. One of those recipes would typically be a bread that I would happily hand off to my partner to work on while I did any other recipe we were assigned. I learned plenty through watching him prepare the loafs of bread so thanks Jacob, for always making the bread. I hope I didn’t make you despise making bread as much as I do.

I was gifted these Pampered Chef bread mixes. I didn’t even know they had mixes, I thought they were just a kitchenware company but it looks like they are branching out into all sorts of mixes and spices. I had the Italian herb bread mix and the sourdough mix and with my lack of patience, I decided to make them side by side to have two loaves of bread at once.

The instructions are super easy to follow. You just add water to the mixes and let it rise for 2 hours. Then you knead the dough and make it into the loaf shape then let it rest for another hour. Finally, 3+ hours later, you bake it. Then you let it sit for another half an hour before you can slice it and eat it. I applaud anyone who has the patience to make bread. I had to set reminders in my phone to check on these loaves because I get distracted doing a million things. I am not great at pausing in between tasks. It has to all get done at once or it’s hopeless for me.

The mixes both called for a cup of water but the Italian Herb bread was a stickier dough whereas the Sourdough mixture was more dry. They both rose beautifully and the herb mixture smelled amazing. I put them both on the same sheet pan and baked them at the same time. Both mixes called for the same temperature and same bake time but the Italian Herb bread came out darker brown than the sourdough. It definitely appeared overcooked.

They both smelled amazing at this point and I waited the 30 minutes before slicing. The inside of each loaf looked fantastic with a nice consistency. I cut a slice of each and really enjoyed them. They tasted great and and had were so soft you could have fooled me into thinking these were homemade (but I don’t eat much homemade bread). The Sourdough was not dry like the dough, it was soft and the edges didn’t hurt my mouth like some store-bought sourdoughs do. The Italian Herb bread was almost sweet and the herbs were fantastic. With a little butter on top, this was an enjoyable snack. You can’t go wrong with either of these mixes but I preferred the complexity of the flavor with the Italian Herb bread. The sourdough was used in my house for sandwiches and it did a fantastic job, it was so much better than the bread you pick up at the store. This should convince me to make more homemade bread right? Unlikely. I may pickup more bread box mixes to try however, I feel that not dealing with the yeast and other ingredients takes part of the annoyance out of bread making for me.

The Sourdough mix claims it makes 11 servings at 110 calories per serving totaling 1210 calories. The Italians herb mix claims it makes 9 servings at 140 calories per serving totaling 1260 calories.

Here are the links to products used today:
Oven Mitts – https://amzn.to/3JYq5Mg
9×13 baking pan – https://amzn.to/3QFTQoZ
Plastic Measuring Cup – https://amzn.to/4bDJIoV
*These are affiliate links meaning if you click on the link and buy the product, I will earn a small commission, but you will not be charged a penny more.