Maybe this site should be more about how to stretch a dollar than how to be evironmentally conscious. Or it could be both. Both is good; of my choices the two are not mutally exclusive.

Anyone want a bread recipe? The one of the week is:
2 and 1/4 tsp yeast
1 Tbsp sugar
1 and 1/2 tsp salt
1 cup flour

stir in this a cup and a half of very warm water and 2 Tbsp melted butter. (Butter because you get what you put in. Good stuff in only makes it taste better) Let it rest until it's all bubbly and yeasty.

Then add the rest of the flour. Oh, say 1 cup and a bit -the bit is always variable depending on the dough. It should be like warm playdoh in your hands while kneading it through this step. And yes, your hands are going to get covered in large amounts of dough. You could try a spoon, or a heavy duty mixer, or whatever else seems good, but I've always had great luck with my hands. Better control over the dough.

Let your warmed kneaded dough rise until doubled in the bowl -I never really found a difference in whether or not it was oiled or not- but you need to cover it. Plastic wrap works. so do plastic shower caps (clean) or processing caps (from the beauty supply store) or even the elastic banded caps sold specifically for the purpose. When I was younger, a dishtowel served exactly the same thing with the benefit of being able to throw it in the washing machine.

Then you knead the dough again. Shape it into your finished product and put in the greased container it will be baked in. Cover again. Rise again until doubled. Then bake it at 350 for anywhere between 35 minutes and an hour depending on the shape and size of the product.