This simple homemade bread yields a light, airy loaf with a crispy golden-brown crust. Wonderful for sandwiches, toast, or warm straight out of the oven, this recipe is foolproof and ideal for novices and experts alike!
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Bread Recipe
Description
This simple homemade bread yields a light, airy loaf with a crispy golden-brown crust. Wonderful for sandwiches, toast, or warm straight out of the oven, this recipe is foolproof and ideal for novices and experts alike!
Ingredients
Instructions
Video
- Prepare the dough: In a large bowl or stand mixer, add the yeast, water, and a pinch of the sugar or honey. Allow to rest for 5-10 minutes until foamy and bubbly. (This is called “proofing” the yeast to make sure it is active.). If it doesn’t foam, the yeast is no good, and you need to start over with fresh yeast.
- Add remaining sugar or honey, salt, oil, and 3 cups (0.71 l) of flour. Mix to combine.
- Add another cup of flour and mix to combine. With the mixer running, add more flour, ½ cup at a time, until the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl. The dough should be smooth and elastic and slightly stick to a clean finger but not be overly sticky. Add a little more flour, if needed.
- Knead the dough: Mix the dough for 4-5 minutes on medium speed (or knead with your hands on a lightly floured surface for 5-8 minutes).
- First Rise: Grease a large bowl with oil or cooking spray and place the dough inside, turning to coat. Cover with a dish towel or plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm place* until doubled in size, about 1 ½ hours.
- Spray two 9x5'' bread pans generously with cooking spray on all sides. (I also like to line the bottom of the pans with a small piece of parchment paper, but this is optional.)
- Punch the dough down well to remove air bubbles. Divide into two equal portions. Shape each ball into long logs and place into greased loaf pans.
- Second rise: Cover pans with a lightweight, dry dish towel (or spray two pieces of plastic wrap generously with cooking spray and lay them gently over the pans). Allow dough to rise again for about 45 minutes to one hour, or until it has risen about 1 inch (2.54 cm) above the loaf pans. Gently removing covering.
- Bake: Preheat oven to 350 F. Bake the bread for about 30–33 minutes, or until it is golden brown on top. Give the top of a loaf a gentle tap; it should sound hollow.
- Invert the loaves onto a wire cooling rack. Brush the tops with butter and allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before slicing.
- Once cool, store in an airtight container or bag for 2-3 days at room temperature, or up to 5 days in the refrigerator.
Nutrition Facts
Servings 24
- Amount Per Serving
- Calories 202kcal
- % Daily Value *
- Total Fat 2g4%
- Saturated Fat 1g5%
- Sodium 196mg9%
- Potassium 56mg2%
- Total Carbohydrate 41g14%
- Dietary Fiber 1g4%
- Sugars 3g
- Protein 5g10%
- Calcium 8 mg
- Iron 2 mg
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily value may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Note
- You can use either bread flour or all-purpose flour without altering the recipe. Bread flour will produce a slightly chewier loaf. Whole wheat flour can’t be substituted cup-for-cup because its gluten levels are different. Here is my favorite whole wheat bread recipe.
- Yeast: To substitute instant or rapid-rise yeast, skip the “proofing” of the dough in the first step and add the yeast to the bowl with step 2. Allow the dough to complete its first rise, and then roll and shape it into loaves and rise again (rise times will be much faster with instant yeast).
- Quick-rise Tip: To speed up the first rise, make the dough and place it in a well-greased bowl, turning it once to grease it all over. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Preheat oven to 180 degrees F, then turn oven off. Place the bowl into the oven, leaving the oven door slightly cracked open. Allow to rise until doubled. Then remove, punch down, and shape into loaves.
- To get ahead: Make the bread dough through step 4, before the first rise. Place in a large airtight container, and refrigerate for up to one day. Remove it from the fridge and allow it to come to room temperature. Proceed with punching down and forming loaves.
- Freezing Instruction Freeze the dough by following these steps: gh: Prepare the recipe through step (6) before the second rise. Place the shaped loaves into a freezer-safe or disposable aluminum bread pan. Cover tightly with a double layer of aluminum foil and freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to bake, allow the loaves to thaw and complete the second rise at room temperature (about 5 hours). Bake as directed.
- To freeze bakebread, allow it to cool completely. Place each loaf in a freezer-safe resealable bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature on the countertop or overnight in the refrigerator.
- Bread Machine: If using a bread machine, you may want to cut this recipe in half to make 1 loaf (depending on the capacity of your machine).
