How To Bake And Learn The Wonder Of Making Homemade Bread
I grew up baking bread. I am amazed at the Wonder Of Making Homemade Bread. It was the first thing I ever made. Yup, know it sounds weird. Most people start by baking chocolate chip cookies or something easy, but I didn’t. Yes, I baked bread. At the time, long ago, I used to make plain old white bread and everyone loved that yummy smell as it rose from the oven and filled the house with wonderful smells. As fragrant goodness filled the house everyone would come and ask when we could eat it. Sweet memories.
Homemade bread -better than any store-bought kind
Life got very busy over the years and the necessity and business of life took over and I put off bread making for many years. It was easy and I did what everyone else did by grabbing a loaf off the grocery shelf.
We moved to an area where there was this giant Bakery where you could go and buy Rye bread or Italian bread or rolls or bagels or Irish soda bread or anything…… Get the picture? It all came right off these conveyor belts right out of the the oven. Oh the smells! What to buy?
Try this and see how easy it is to bake bread from scratch
But then we moved again and I decided to adapt and got out my great grandmother’s big ceramic bowl and my old recipes and I got to work. Time to remember the Wonder Of Making Homemade Bread. Time made me forget how easy it is to make your own bread but I remembered there is nothing like fresh, hot, right out of the oven bread. Since I love making homemade bread I also love to make delicious Easy Challah Bread . This is also great out of the oven and great for french toast.
This recipe is a little different and gives you a soft texture that is light and airy but if you want a bit of crunch on the outside there are some things you can do to alter the outcome. That is part of the Wonder of Making Homemade Bread and baking it yourself.
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups of all purpose-flour
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 teaspoons of yeast ( I always use rapid rise yeast)
2 tbs sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
1 cup warm water about 110 degrees
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 teaspoons of yeast ( I always use rapid rise yeast)
2 tbs sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
1 cup warm water about 110 degrees
Mix together warm water, yeast and sugar and let it sit for about five minutes so the yeast activates
I warm the bowl before adding the water. Water should be about 110-115 degrees. I check by putting it on my wrist to check. But if you’re starting out use a thermometer to check the temp. Then you can get a feel for how warm 110-115 degrees is. I always allow the yeast to start activating ( you will see it foam) I do this first for two reasons. First, to make sure the water is not too hot and the yeast will not be destroyed. Secondly, to make sure the yeast is still active. I use rapid rise yeast because it does what the name says and I do not have to wait two hours for the dough to double in size.
I warm the bowl before adding the water. Water should be about 110-115 degrees. I check by putting it on my wrist to check. But if you’re starting out use a thermometer to check the temp. Then you can get a feel for how warm 110-115 degrees is. I always allow the yeast to start activating ( you will see it foam) I do this first for two reasons. First, to make sure the water is not too hot and the yeast will not be destroyed. Secondly, to make sure the yeast is still active. I use rapid rise yeast because it does what the name says and I do not have to wait two hours for the dough to double in size.
Add the rest of the ingredients to the bowl with the yeast. Place the dough in a kitchen mixer and mix/ knead the dough for three to five minutes. You will see the consistency go from hard and tight to soft and pliable. Scrape dough out of bowl and place in a clean bowl that has been prepped by spraying with a non stick spray. Flip the dough over so it’s covered slightly with oil. Place dough in a warm spot. Warm up the oven to 170 degrees for one minute and then shut it off. The oven does not have enough time to reach that temperature but it does give it a cozy warm spot to grow and do its thing. Cover with a clean dish towel.
Let the dough rise until it is doubled in size and when it is ready, remove it from the bowl and shape it into whatever shape you want. You can make round loaves or long Italian loaves. Cover again and allow the loaves to rise again about 20 minutes.
Right before baking slice a few slits on the top with a very sharp knife at least 1/4 inch deep.
(For a crunchy outside texture, place a roasting pan in the bottom rack to heat while you preheat the oven. Add about an inch or two of boiling hot water into the roasting pan after placing the bread on the middle rack to create steam and quickly close the door.)
Bake in a preheated oven at 400° for 20 -30 minutes or until golden brown.
Remove from the oven and allow it to cool a little before slicing.
In the meantime you can get the butter ready. Yum!
Now that’s what I’m talking about. And that’s what memories are made of
Isn’t that easy and delicious?
The Wonder Of Baking Bread
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups of all purpose-flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 1/2 tsp yeast I always use rapid rise yeast
- 2 tbs sugar
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 1 cup warm water
Instructions
To make the dough
- Mix together the warm water, ( 110-115 defrees F) yeast and sugar. Let it sit for about 5 minutes. Warm the bowl so it is not very cold before adding the warm water
- Add remaining ingredients to the bowl with the yeast mixture
- Mix in kitchen stand mixer with dough attachment or mix by hand for 3-5 minutes
- Continue kneeding dough either by hand or in mixer for 10 minutes to form the gluten strands making the dough pliable and ready to rise
- Scrape the dough out of the bowl and place in a large bowl that has been prepped with kitchen spray or butter
- flip the dough over so it is completely covered with oil
- Cover with a towel and place dough in a wam spot. Allow dough to rise until doubled in size
- Remove dough and shape into desired loaf shape or sizes and place on a baking sheet
- Cover and allow to rise again for about 20 - 30 minutes
- optional: Cut a few slits in the top of the dough with a very sharp knife
- For crunchy outside spray ovenw ith water before baking or before heating place a roasting pan in the bottom of the oven while it heats. Right before placing lof in the oven add boiling water to roasting pan, place foaf in oven and shut the door quickly, trapping the stea, The steam will make a custy, crunchy outside texture
- Bake in a preheated 400 degree F oven for about 20-30 minutes until golden brown and you hear a hollow sound when tapping loaf
- alow to cool slightly before slicing
WELCOME! My name is Mary. Here at The Recipe Patch you will find a garden full of recipes to make life easy and delicious. I hope you find a new recipe to share with your friends and family. There is something for every occasion…. Let’s get to work… or play!Here are some other recipes you may like
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