Easy Homemade Bread

Lately I've noticed so many people sharing pictures of their homemade bread over social media, and to be honest, I think we've all turned into amazing bakers during the isolation. What I love to see is how creative everyone is, we're trying things for the first time, and being successful at it.

I've been making bread for years, however many of us find it somewhat intimidating - at least I did at first. In my opinion, a lot of people don't commonly use yeast when baking, or might have tried and found it daunting or didn't love the final result. Bread making is a "practice makes perfect" kinda thing - so the more you do it, the better you'll get! Once you start to feel comfortable with bread making, venture out and experiment with buns, pizza dough (way better than store bought), ciabatta, baguette...the possibilities are endless!

This recipe is super simple, I hate to use the word basic because the final loaf is far from basic - so let's stick with simple. Before you begin let's talk about a few things you should be aware of before you're elbows deep in flour.

• Read the entire recipe and prepare your ingredients, have everything available at your finger tips.

• Make sure your kitchen is warm - I usually turn my oven on to 350° F then turn it off and open the oven door.

• Check to make sure your ingredients are fresh, if you don't make homemade bread often your yeast could be expired.

• Follow precisely the recipe’s directions.

• Measure dry ingredients in a dry ingredients measuring cup or spoon.

• Measure liquid ingredients in see-through measuring cups at eye level.

• Preheat the oven.

For more tips and tricks visit Fleischmann's® , where you will learn more about kneading, resting, shaping, and baking.

This is what the dough should look like after the first proof, one hour. It's smooth and has doubled in size.

After the second proof in the bread pans, which again will almost double in size, bake in a pre-heated 375° F oven for approximately 30 min. The loaves should look golden and sound hollow if you tap the tops. I like to butter the tops before I remove them from the loaf pans.

This recipe makes two loaves so I suggest you freeze the second loaf if you're not eating it right away. Now, I will warn you...once the family sink their teeth into these soft fluffy slices of bread they will be begging for more.

Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes Cook Time 30 minutes Rise Time 2 hours

Makes 2 Loaves

Ingredients

2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast (1 packet)

1 3/4 cups warm water

1/2 cup room temperature milk

1/4 cup sugar

2 tsp salt

2 tbsp softened butter

5 1/2 - 6 cups bread flour

butter for topping (optional)

Instructions

1. In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, dissolve the yeast in the warm water with 1 tbsp sugar, let sit approx 5 - 7 min. Once the yeast is activated (bubbly and foamy), add the remainder of the sugar, milk, salt, butter, and 4 cups flour, mix until smooth. If your using a mixer start with the paddle until it is combined then switch to the dough hook.

2. Add remaining flour, ½ cup at a time, to form a soft, smooth dough. The dough should stick just slightly to your finger when touched, but not stay on your fingers. Knead by hand or mixer until smooth (approx 7 min) then roll into a ball.

3. Place the dough in an buttered bowl, turn over once to coat the top with butter and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm spot for one hour, or until doubled in size.

4. Once the dough has risen, punch it down gently and divide in half, use a scale if you have one so your loaves are exactly the same. On a lightly floured surface roll each half of the dough into a long rectangle about 7 1/2 - 8 inches wide. Roll the dough up, starting at the short edge, to form a cylinder. Place seam side down in a lightly buttered bread pan. Repeat with remaining dough.

5. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm spot one hour, or until the dough is almost doubled in size.

6. Preheat the oven to 375. Bake 30-35 minutes, or the loaves are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped. Remove from oven, then remove from pans by running a knife around the edges and invert onto wire rack. Brush tops with melted butter if desired. Cool to room temperature before slicing.

Here are tips on kneading dough from my friends at Fleischmann’s®.

With a Stand Mixer

By Hand.

Let me know how your bread turned out, or if you have any questions leave a comment.