Back To Basics- How To Make Homemade Bread

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Making homemade bread is easy, once you get into the ritual and habit of doing it! Former bake shop owner, Renee from Hello Creative Family, shares how to make homemade bread perfect for sandwiches and rolls in this new back to basics article. An easy to follow recipe that will guarantee success with every loaf!

I’ve been making homemade bread, almost weekly, for my family for a long time.  I remember a time when a girlfriend casually said, “Give it time and you’ll be buying loaves of bread at the grocery store like the rest of us.”  That was almost ten years ago.  Truthfully, I do often buy bread from the grocery store, but kneading a few loaves or buns for the week is still a week-end ritual for me that I rarely miss.  It’s become exactly that, a ritual.  I very much enjoy the smushing and rolling and repetitiveness of kneading dough on the counter.   It’s 10 minutes that I just stand still and remain in the moment.  And the magic of the yeast rising, and then rising again into a gorgeous loaf or flaky roll, is still not lost on me.   The same holds true for the incredible smell that emits from bread baking in the oven.  There’s surely nothing else like it!  I’m sure if you’ve ever asked other bread makers, their feelings are similar.  Bread making is probably one of the biggest things that catapulted me into my love of baking.

I think people often shy away from making homemade bread, because yeast seems intimidating.  Honestly, once you’ve made bread a few times, yeast doesn’t really seem all that scary anymore.  And yeast these days, is virtually fool-proof.  Unless you scald it, by adding liquid ingredients that are much too hot, the odds are pretty good that your bread dough will rise. 

Kneading the bread is fairly simple too.  I say, for most homemade breads, don’t get too caught up in kneading time.  Plan for 10 minutes.   Most basic bread recipes will do well with a 10 minute kneading time.  All that smushing and rolling is strengthening those gluten strands and helping it rise and maintain its shape.  Some of my best thinking happens during this time, because I can just get caught up in the motions and let my mind wander.

Making homemade bread is easy, once you get into the ritual and habit of doing it! Former bake shop owner, Renee from Hello Creative Family, shares how to make homemade bread perfect for sandwiches and rolls in this new back to basics article. An easy to follow recipe that will guarantee success with every loaf!

Once the kneading is done, the dough is set aside to rest and rise.  I usually cover it with a tea towel and leave it for about an hour and a half.  That’s feeding time for the yeast.  It’s going to eat all of the sugars in the dough, then release carbon dioxide and swell up.  And once I return, tah-dah!  The magic of bread making has begun.   A quick shaping of the dough into loaves, and I leave it again for another while, until it’s baking time. There really is very little hands on time with bread making.

Sounds pretty simple right?  It truly, truly is.  Get the kiddos in the kitchen so they can see the magic too!  I even wish we were closer dear friends, so I could break bread with you!  There simply is nothing better than fresh bread out of the oven.  And I have the satisfaction of knowing that I made something great for my family.

Read on for my instructions on how to make homemade bread. 

Making homemade bread is easy, once you get into the ritual and habit of doing it! Former bake shop owner, Renee from Hello Creative Family, shares how to make homemade bread perfect for sandwiches and rolls in this new back to basics article. An easy to follow recipe that will guarantee success with every loaf!

How To Make Homemade Bread

Yields 2 Loaves

This is a great recipe to try if you are a first time bread maker.  Feel free to swap out half of the white flour for whole wheat flour too (just add 2 more tbsp. of milk).  I always use local honey in my bread dough.  I feel that it yields the best dough, in terms of flavour, however sugar can be substituted.

Ingredients:

-5-6 cups unbleached all purpose flour
-1 ½ tbsp Instant Rise Yeast
-¼ cup honey
-¼ cup shortening
– 1¾ cup warm milk – about 110 ° (water is fine too)
– 1 large egg, slightly beaten
– 1 tsp salt – kosher is best

Making homemade bread is easy, once you get into the ritual and habit of doing it! Former bake shop owner, Renee from Hello Creative Family, shares how to make homemade bread perfect for sandwiches and rolls in this new back to basics article. An easy to follow recipe that will guarantee success with every loaf!

Instructions:

1. Cube the shortening and put it in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of the flour, honey and yeast and blend together. I like to use a wooden spoon here to mix and break up the lumps of shortening as I’m blending. The dough will be messy and chunky from the shortening and honey and that is normal. Just combine as best you can, it will smooth out more as you add the wet ingredients.

2. Add the milk, egg, salt and another cup of flour. Mix to combine.

3. Dump the dough mixture onto countertop (it will be a lumpy sticky mess) and continue to blend by hand. Knead the dough, adding a dusting of flour as needed to prevent it from sticking to you and the counter.

4. Knead dough for 8 – 10 minutes or until you have a nice smooth ball. It should not be sticky any longer.

5. Place the dough in large bowl coated with olive oil (roll the dough around a few times to coat it with oil too) and cover with a clean towel. Place the bowl in a warm, draft-free area to rise. It should double in size in about one and a half hours.

6. Punch down (squish and push the dough back down into the bowl) and divide the dough in half. Shape each half into loaves by rolling into a long tube (tuck in and pinch the ends) and placing in greased 8” loaf pans. Cover with the clean towel and allow to rise in a warm, draft-free area for another hour, until double in size.

7. Remove towels, make a quick slash on the top of the loaves only (lengthwise) with a serrated knife and bake in preheated 400°F oven, center rack, for 30 minutes. Tap the top crust and it should sound hollow. Remove from pans almost immediately and rub butter on the top of the loaves for a softer crust.  Allow to cool before cutting.

Enjoy your delicious homemade bread!

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How To Make Homemade Bread

Ingredients
  

  • -5-6 cups unbleached all purpose flour
  • -1 ½ tbsp Instant Rise Yeast
  • -¼ cup honey
  • -¼ cup shortening
  • – 1¾ cup warm milk – about 110 ° water is fine too
  • – 1 large egg slightly beaten
  • – 1 tsp salt – kosher is best

Instructions

  • Cube the shortening and put it in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of the flour, honey and yeast and blend together. I like to use a wooden spoon here to mix and break up the lumps of shortening as I’m blending. The dough will be messy and chunky from the shortening and honey and that is normal. Just combine as best you can, it will smooth out more as you add the wet ingredients.
  • Add the milk, egg, salt and another cup of flour. Mix to combine.
  • Dump the dough mixture onto countertop (it will be a lumpy sticky mess) and continue to blend by hand. Knead the dough, adding a dusting of flour as needed to prevent it from sticking to you and the counter.
  • Knead dough for 8 – 10 minutes or until you have a nice smooth ball. It should not be sticky any longer.
  • Place the dough in large bowl coated with olive oil (roll the dough around a few times to coat it with oil too) and cover with a clean towel. Place the bowl in a warm, draft-free area to rise. It should double in size in about one and a half hours.
  • Punch down (squish and push the dough back down into the bowl) and divide the dough in half. Shape each half into loaves by rolling into a long tube (tuck in and pinch the ends) and placing in greased 8” loaf pans. Cover with the clean towel and allow to rise in a warm, draft-free area for another hour, until double in size.
  • Remove towels, make a quick slash on the top of the loaves only (lengthwise) with a serrated knife and bake in preheated 400°F oven, center rack, for 30 minutes. Tap the top crust and it should sound hollow. Remove from pans almost immediately and rub butter on the top of the loaves for a softer crust. Allow to cool before cutting.
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Making homemade bread is easy, once you get into the ritual and habit of doing it! Former bake shop owner, Renee from Hello Creative Family, shares how to make homemade bread perfect for sandwiches and rolls in this new back to basics article. An easy to follow recipe that will guarantee success with every loaf!

Tell us… Have you ever tried making homemade bread at home? If not, would you try it now?

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6 Comments

  1. I haven’t made a loaf in quite some time…..it’s raining today so maybe this is something I can do today! Thanks for the inspiration!

  2. Victoria Ess says:

    I have made homemade bread before and I agree — it seems more intimidating than it really is!

  3. Great tutorial~ Last time made bread it was in a bread machine, ha remember those~ Thanks for linking up to Merry Monday! Sharing on G+! Have a great week!
    Kim

  4. I love making homemade bread, but I don’t do it as often as I should. Thanks for sharing your yummy recipe at Delicious Dishes!

  5. Darlene Demell says:

    I remember helping my mother make homemade bread but have never tried it on my own. We love homemade bread so one of these days I will give it a try.