Homemade Bread

I include a link back to this recipe in just about every recipe that I post. That’s because we have it every night with dinner. It’s great to have fresh homemade bread whenever we want.

The best part about this recipe is that when you come in after a busy day and you want some fresh, warm, out of the oven, homemade bread. It’s ready in minutes. But, to have the dough on hand you have to make it ahead of time. But, it’s easy!

And it works great for your homemade Pizza!

 

Ingredients for your Homemade Bread

• 1 cup of warm water
• 1 rounded tablespoon dry yeast
• 1 level teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil (optional)
• 1 pinch of sugar (optional)
• 2 cups flour – plus a little more for handling the dough

 

How to Make Your Homemade Bread

 

Warm up one cup of good water (bottled or filtered) in the microwave or on the stove. It’s going to have to be just a little warmer than body temp but not so hot that you can’t leave your finger in it. The warmer the water the faster the dough will rise. But, if it’s too hot it will kill the yeast and it won’t rise at all. Put it in a medium sized mixing bowl. 

Add a rounded tbsp. of yeast, a level teaspoon of salt (more or less), about a tbsp. of good olive oil (optional) and a pinch of sugar (optional). Whisk it up until the yeast and salt have dissolved then let it sit for five minutes or so until tiny bubbles (isn’t that an old song?) start to appear on the surface. About five minutes.

 

 

Add two cups of flour. With a large cooks spoon mix and then fold in the flour until it wants to turn into dough.

 

 

Add more flour if needed to be able to fold. And then knead the dough just enough to get it mixed well and formed into a ball.

 

Put a dry towel over the bowl. Some folks cover the dough tightly with plastic wrap. Some folks do it the old fashioned way with a towel . You’re the chef do it which ever way YOU want to. Place it in a warm spot where there are no drafts. On the counter top next to the stove works good.

 

 

Let it sit until it has puffed up to about double in size, forty five minutes to 2 hours. Usually an hour works okay. There have been times when we have been in a crunch and have twisted off a wad of the dough after maybe ten minutes, when it just started to show a little life. It worked! Anyway, Have your oven preheated to 400°.

After it’s risen punch it down and take as much as you need for tonight’s supper. Form your loaf any way you want it. Spread some corn meal or flour on your pizza stone or baking sheet and lay your dough out on it. 

It’ll be done when you tap on the bottom of the loaf and it sounds hollow and when the crust is as dark and crusty as you like it.

 

 

You could slice up the loaf and save the slices that you don’t use tonight in a zip lock bag in the freezer.

 

 

Or, you could use just what you need tonight and put the rest in a plastic container that has a snap lid. And save it in the fridge. It’ll be waiting for you.

And, for the next few days you can grab some out of the fridge, form it into a small loaf or roll and put it in the toaster oven for some homemade, fast, warm and fresh bread right out of the oven with your dinner.

You could double the amounts so there would be even more dough for fresh homemade bread or pizza on hand.