Recipe: Homemade Bread, yes you can

When I got home from dropping my kids off at school I stepped out of my car and a heavenly scent enveloped me... Someone was making homemade bread.

(way better then the smelly socks that were bothering me in yesterdays post.)

I started salivating immediately.

Isn't fresh baked bread one of the most heavenly smells?

I had to have some.

And since I didn't want to wander the neighborhood sniffing at peoples houses,

I decided to make my own.

Bread making and I have not been friends. I even made it a new years resolution

two years in a row to learn how to make bread... it might have been three years.

After lots of flat loaves, caved in loaves, and loaves that didn't resemble bread at all, I finally decided that baking the frozen bread dough from the supermarket counted as "homemade".

One day my mother-in-law kindly took me into her kitchen and taught me how to make bread.

She gave me the recipe below, which has not failed me yet.

She explained how that if you add the sugar and salt at the same time the yeast will not be happy.

And what letting the yeast "proof" means. She made it look so easy!

She moved effortlessly around the kitchen. Mixing the ingredients took less then 5 minutes.

Inspired, I went home and tried baking the bread... it turned out!

And, I have made it many times since and it has turned out every time.

I've even been able to branch out and try different bread recipes now that I have experience.

Hopefully you can "click and drag" the above recipe onto your desk-top and print it out.

Easy Peasie Bread

   from - “MaKenzie”

Step 1 - 

2 cups luke warm water. (the temp of a hot bath)

2 T. yeast

3 T. sugar

1/4 cup oil

• Mix together in bowl and let ‘proof’(that means sit for about 5 min. till foamy and bubbly. If it does not bubble your water was too hot or your yeast was bad.)

Step 2 - 

2 cups flour

2 tsp. salt

2. tsp gluten

   * Mix with yeast mixture. Let sit five more minutes.

Step 3 & 4 - 

3-4 cups more flour (I end up using about 3 1/2 cups.)

• Mix - if you are mixing it in a mixer, the dough should clean the sides of the bowl. If you are mixing it by hand you will have to knead it on the counter. Your hands will get messy but the dough should “clean” the counter too, for the most part.

* Your bread is the right consistency when it is moist to the touch but does not stick to your fingers. When you press your finger into the dough it should immediately begin to rise back up.

Step 5 thru 8 - 

   * Let rise till double.

   * No need to knead. Just take it out of the bowl and start forming it into loaves. 

   * Place in greased loaf pans or I make a few “french” style loaves by forming and

      baking the loaf on a cookie sheet.

   * Let rise till double again.

   * Bake at 375 degrees till golden brown (about 35 min., longer or shorter depending on loaf size)

This will make 2 loaves.

Also great for cinnamon rolls, monkey bread, dinner rolls, and just about anything else.

My kids like to spread honey butter on the bread.

1 cube softened butter and about 1/4ish cup butter mixed together.

*If you are using bread flour omit the gluten.

Happy Baking!