How to Make Basic Homemade Bread

Bake as a Loaf or as Dinner Rolls

Jan 3, 2009 Hildra Tague

As bread is known as the staff of life and is a staple in many people's diet, it would be wise to learn about how to make it from scratch without processing or chemicals.

Making basic homemade bread can be a great way to spend time in the kitchen by choosing cookware, laying out ingredients, assembling the batter, then returning later to enjoy punching the dough. At that point, the kitchen will begin to smell so good it will be easy to stay and start planning and preparing a meal while it's rising again, then being cooked. As the table is set and food is laid out, people will be drawn to the meal by the wonderful smell. Put butter or honey out to make it perfect.

Cookware for Fixing Homemade Bread

  • A large mixing bowl
  • Loaf pan -- glass or metal
  • Rack for cooling, optional
  • Sharp knife for cutting

Ingredients for Basic Homemade Bread

  • 2 packages dry yeast
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 cups lukewarm water
  • 5 or more cups flour (depending on hand strength and motivation)
  • 1 teaspoon sale
  • 1 egg
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Directions for Homemade Bread Dough

  1. Crumble yeast.
  2. Add salt, sugar, water and well-beaten egg.
  3. Add oil.
  4. Add flour, working in with spoon, then with hands. This part is fun.
  5. Drape with cloth to rise till doubled in size, about an hour.
  6. Form into two loaves, pinching underneath to seal.
  7. Put in warmish place and let rise till double, about an hour (under a light works well).
  8. Bake at 425 degrees for about 20 minutes, turning around a couple of times in the oven.
  9. After cooling a while, slice and butter and avoid the scales for a few days.

Punching the Bread Dough

Make a family tradition of gathering when it is time to punch the dough down. This allows everyone to enjoy the smell and appreciate the value of home cooked food. This helps motivate the cook to prepare other fine food to accompany the bread.

This event of punching the bread dough serves as a time landmark and brings one back to the kitchen to signal the need to get organized and finalize meal plans. The wonderful smell of yeast and fresh bread baking makes preparing the rest of the meal a delight.

Variations on Easy Homemade Bread

Flour can be white, wheat, or a combination of both.

Make cloverleaf rolls after Step 5 by placing three rolled-up large marble-sized balls of dough in the bottom of each muffin tin and the will magically take shape in the oven.

Dough can be refrigerated after step 6 for up to a week. One hour or so before baking continue at Step 7.

Experiment with putting small amounts of cheddar cheese in center during Step 6 before sealing on bottom.

Any cook can make basic homemade bread and will find it is easy enough to get around to often. It can be a fun event for family members as they enjoy the kitchen aroma. They become breadmakers while spinning a tale of old country kitchens. Notice you don't have to knead this bread dough, but once you try it, you'll need it! Who knows, another day you might even want to fix cornbread.

The copyright of the article How to Make Basic Homemade Bread in Baking & Desserts is owned by Hildra Tague. Permission to republish How to Make Basic Homemade Bread in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
Fresh Homemade Bread, xandert Fresh Homemade Bread
   
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Comments

Jan 4, 2009 9:07 AM
Guest :
This is a great article. I've always wanted to try real bread making from scratch but it always seemed daunting. This makes me think I could actually do it!
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