Homemade Bread
Baking homemade bread is quick and easy, most people get scared off by the prospects of rising dough and the intricacy of kneading dough. With that being said this is great recipe to get your feet wet with. It goes with the easier method of measuring ingredients instead of weighing, and uses a packet of yeast to further simplify things. The more advanced (and precise) methods definitely have their place but don’t let them hold you back when it comes to making a quick loaf of bread, the first time you slather butter onto a warm piece of homemade bread, in a home that stills smells of baking, you will be a bread baker for life!
Ingredients
- 3 1/4 C. King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour
- 1 Packet Active Dry Yeast
- 1 tsp. Kosher Salt
- 1 1/2 C. Warm Water
Directions
- Combine all the ingredients and mix or knead into a soft dough
- Place into a greased metal bowl and let it rise for an hour, somewhere warm.
- After the rise punch it down a bit and form it into a ball or long loaf. I like the “tuck it under” method to form a circular loaf. I just pull the dough from the center while tucking it under itself with my fingers.
- Place it onto a peel (or piece of cardboard) with a piece of parchment paper underneath. Cover it with a greased piece of plastic wrap.
- Pre-Heat the oven to 375 F. If you using a stone put it in now as well.
- After the loaf has had 30 minutes to re-rise, give it a slash or two with a knife, and place into the oven.
- It is going to bake for 30-35 minutes. I use a thermometer these days (it is done at 190 F.) but used to take out the loaf when it “looked” done. This recipe is pretty fail-proof so shoot for a nice golden color on the crust and you can’t go wrong.
- The hard part: Let it sit for 30 minutes before slicing.
The Wrap-Up
There you have it, a quick and easy recipe for homemade bread. Once you experience the smells, taste, and satisfaction of baking your own bread you’ll be hooked. Plus as far as Preparedness skills go this one is hard to top, 4 ingredients and a little know how and you can be eating well in a time of crisis. A fresh loaf would sure take the edge off of a Hurricane or Blizzard.
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Just made some up. That 30 minutes cool down period… well water boarding now moves to no 2 in the list.
Lol! It is a rough 30 minutes, but worth it in the end. I’m glad you liked it. For some more torture give this one a try, it has another rough cool down period. . . Beer Bread
this looks easier than using my bread machine. Gonna try it today.
I’vE made this a few times now and with different flours too. great recipe, thank you! But I have a question about the 30 minute wait time. Why do you have to wait?
Like a piece of meat the bread continues to cook for a little bit after you take it out. Having said that I’ve been known to rip a hunk off of a loaf just out of the oven! The way the butter melts is to die for.
Going to give this recipe a try today! I’ve made homemade bread a few times now and it always comes out very chewy, is this normal? What could I be doing wrong? I’m wanting a texture closer to store bought sandwich bread.
Homemade bread will be chewy. Store bought bread has all sort of additives to get that soft texture. Wonder bread with Jif peanut butter is my kryptonite though!