Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Bread

I'm breaking down and posting my bread recipe.

I was terrified of yeast breads for many, many a year.  I had never come across a recipe that took less than three hours for good bread.

Until about a year and a half ago.  I found a recipe on accident and thought it sounded pretty easy.  I adapted it and embellished it a bit.......

It was SO easy!  It blew me away with how easy it was and how few ingredients it called for.  Not only was it easy and cheap, but it was so quick!

So, because I love you all so much, and because I want to spread the loooove to ya'll......

Here's the recipe!

Easy Bread

2 1/2 cups hot water (I just use the hot faucet water; let it get really hot!)
1 TBSP plus 1/2 tsp yeast
2 C whole wheat flour

Place the water in a large bowl.  Sprinkle yeast on top of the water.  Add the two cups of flour and gently stir until the flour is wet.  Don't stir it to death!  Let this sit for 20 minutes.  It will foam up and bubble.  While it sits, grease two loaf pans and get the next ingredients ready......

1/3 C brown sugar or honey
1/3 C olive oil
2 tsp salt
5-6 C wheat flour

 Preheat oven to 200 degrees.  Add the sugar or honey, oil and salt to the bubbly flour mixture.  Gradually add the flour, one cup at a time and stir gently.  Keep adding the flour and stirring until the dough looks a bit dry and comes away from the sides of the bowl.  On the surface where you will knead the flour, generously sprinkle extra flour. I knead my bread on a large cutting board surface.  Any surface will work, as long as you have a cup of flour next to you that you can sprinkle on your surface as you knead.  Dump the dough out on your floured surface.  Sprinkle more flour onto the dough.  Knead dough for about 6-10 minutes, until the dough is soft and smooth, making sure to sprinkle flour onto your surface so that the dough does not stick.  Cut dough in half.  Shape into two loaves.  Place dough into your greased loaf pans.  Place in preheated oven.  Let rise for about 15 minutes, or until dough is about an inch above the top of your pans.  Turn oven up to 350 degrees.  Bake loaves for 25 minutes.

That's IT!!!

Easy cheesy!

Try it and let me know how you like it.  You can combine white flour and wheat flour too.  This makes beautiful mini loaves too, to give as gifts.  You can brush your crusts with butter after they come out of the oven to give it a nice shiny look and make the crust really soft.  Believe me when I say that if I can make this bread, anybody can!

5 comments:

Susan Holt Simpson said...

Oh, No! I was with you until it said 'brown sugar or honey' , then 'wheat flour', then it just got all blurry ... I am also intimidated by bread recipes. If I ever try one again, I'll try this one, though, because it's named "Easy Bread"!

Devin said...

Ummmm....YUMMY! I'll have to try this one. You're one for one with recipes so far, so if you say it's good, I certainly believe you! :)

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!

Gottjoy! said...

I used to bake bread a lot, but found we would eat the whole loaf in one sitting (yes, we are pigs=))...nothing like warm bread with honey. Maybe I will try this recipe. I have several buckets of wheat in the garage..hmmm...But I will cheat an use my bread machine (I can't believe I held on to it!)

Renata said...

I've tried only a few times with different recipes, but it never turns out the way I like it. Thanks for your recipe - I'll have to give it a go! Do you bake bread often?

Leanne said...

Renata, I bake bread about every other day, or, this recipe has another recipe that makes 6 loaves at at a time and you do it in your mixer. I like to bake bread since finding and adapting this recipe!! Try this recipe and tell me what you think!