How to make bread should be a priority today. I firmly believe that people need to learn some basic skills, such as making bread. This is the bare minimum we need to teach others to learn. Here’s the deal: If you can make bread, you can save money on groceries. Yes, I understand people have gluten issues. I feel terrible for them. You will have to use a GF bread recipe; I cannot recommend one right now. I tried it once, and it had an interesting texture.
If I didn’t make bread for Mark and me, our grocery bill would be so much higher. I’m so grateful my mother taught me how to make bread in our kitchen many years ago.
I remember watching her stir the yeast mixture and dough with a wooden spoon and rolling out the dough on a lightly floured surface. I still remember how excited I got when the loaves came out of the oven and were placed on the rack. I took it one step further and taught myself to make cinnamon rolls, as well as many other things.
I recently wrote a post outlining why families need to learn how to make homemade bread. I received so many positive comments that I thought it was time to update this 2019 post, allowing new readers to access the easy homemade bread recipes and start making their own delicious bread. Please don’t feel intimidated; it’s easier than you may think.
Easy To Make Dinner Rolls For Two
Why Learning to Make Bread Matters More Than Ever
Have you looked at the price of a loaf of bread lately? I remember when a simple sandwich loaf cost about a dollar, and now I find myself standing in the grocery aisle doing math in my head before I put one in my cart. The fancy artisan loaves are even worse. If your family goes through two or three loaves a week, those costs add up quickly, and many of us are feeling the pinch every single time we check out.
Grocery prices have climbed steadily over the last several years, and bread has been right there in the middle of it. The cost of wheat, fuel, packaging, transportation, and labor all get baked into that price tag. When any one of those goes up, we pay for it at the register. The hard truth is that we cannot control what happens with the economy, but we can control how prepared we are to feed our families when things get tight.
That is exactly why I believe every family should learn how to make bread at home. A bag of flour, a jar of yeast, some salt, and water will make loaf after loaf for a fraction of what you would pay at the store. When you bake your own bread, you are no longer at the mercy of store prices, empty shelves, or supply chain problems. You are holding a skill that no one can take away from you.
I also love that homemade bread is simply better for us. When you make it yourself, you know exactly what goes into it. There are no long lists of ingredients you cannot pronounce, no preservatives, and no added sugars you did not choose. You can make whole wheat, white, oatmeal, or honey bread, whatever your family enjoys most, and you can feel good serving it at your table.
Here is something I want you to think about. Learning to bake bread takes practice. Your first loaf may not rise quite right, or it may come out a little dense. That is perfectly okay. The time to learn is now, while you still have the freedom to make mistakes without worrying about wasting ingredients during a hard season. If you wait until prices climb even higher or until an emergency hits, you will be learning under pressure. Nobody wants that.
Bread making is one of those old fashioned skills our grandmothers knew by heart. They did not think of it as a hobby. It was simply how they fed their families. Somewhere along the way, many of us lost that knowledge because it became easier to grab a loaf from the store. Now is the perfect time to bring it back into our kitchens and pass it on to our children and grandchildren.
There is something so comforting about the smell of fresh bread filling your home. It says love, it says security, and it says we are going to be okay. Start with one simple recipe, bake it a few times until you feel confident, and then try another. Before long, you will wonder why you ever paid store prices at all.
The recipes below will get you started, so grab your flour and let’s get baking together.
If You Can Make Bread, You Can Survive
If you can make bread, you can survive almost any situation. Last week, I talked about filling your pantry slowly. The week before that, I talked about making bread. Today I am sharing some of my recipes for bread, rolls, cinnamon rolls, and more.
Remember, we need fresh ingredients to make bread successfully, including fresh yeast. Please remember, bread making takes practice and a good recipe, combined with fresh ingredients. You can make bread and the best rolls in the world if you follow these tips, I promise.
This means the yeast must be good. I only use this one: Saf Instant Yeast, 1 Pound Pouch. I keep the amount I use weekly in my refrigerator in an airtight container. The rest goes in my freezer. I store at least five packages in my freezer, unopened, at a time.
Some people like active dry yeast or rapid-rise yeast. This Saf Instant Yeast has always been reliable in my bread-making. I have friends who use Fleischmann’s Yeast and love it! I used that brand for years because my mother did. Then I taught classes at a Bosch Bread Machine store and they used SAF Instant Yeast, it works for me.
I Love Hard White Wheat for Bread
Call me nervous Nellie, but I can’t be without yeast to make my bread and various rolls. When I make my whole wheat bread, I only use hard white wheat, and I purchase it from Lehi Roller Mills. For years, I’ve ground my own wheat, and the hard white wheat seems to work the best.
I buy it at Costco when they have it in stock. I use this wheat gluten: Wheat Gluten, and this dough enhancer: Dough Enhancer.
When I make my whole wheat homemade bread recipe, I always use wheat gluten and a dough enhancer. If I don’t, the bread will be too heavy and dense for my taste. I prefer a light and fluffy whole-wheat loaf of bread. I use the same dough recipe for whole wheat rolls.
I Like to Make White Bread Too
When I make my white bread recipe, cinnamon rolls, dinner rolls, French bread, hamburger rolls, and other breads, I use bread flour exclusively rather than all-purpose flour. I buy it in bulk from Costco in 25-50 pound bags and only buy what I’ll use in 9-12 months, so I know it will be fresh each time.
The flour will go rancid after that, and my bread will not rise as it should. I know I can hear some of you say, “I have had flour for years and I still use it.” I’ve made bread for years and have learned the flour will go rancid, trust me. I really want you to have a great experience when learning to make bread.
The bread won’t rise if the ingredients aren’t fresh. One thing about my recipes is that you don’t have to use dough enhancers, but I use them because they make my bread and rolls really soft and fluffy.
These are the one-pound loaf pans I use for my bread making: Fat Daddio’s Anodized Aluminum Bread Pan, 7.75 Inch x 3.75 Inch x 2.50 Inch.
Make Bread, It’s Easy
Once you learn to make bread, you’ll realize you can make bread and love doing so. It’s easy, I promise!
No-Fail Whole Wheat Bread Recipe:
No-Fail Whole Wheat Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 Cups Warm Water
- 2/3 Cup Olive Oil
- 1 Cup Honey
- 2 Tablespoons Dough Enhancer
- 2 Tablespoons Wheat Gluten
- 2 Tablespoons Salt
- 2 Tablespoons Saf Instant Yeast
- 2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
- 14 Cups Whole Wheat Flour
Instructions
- Start adding the ingredients in the order shown above with one exception into your mixing bowl…start with 7 cups of flour and slowly add more flour until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. I use a Bosch Mixer.
- I grew up making bread without a mixer, it can be done by hand. I grew up letting my bread rise twice so I still do that. Old habits are hard to break!
- I mix it for 10 minutes in my Bosch. Cover with greased plastic wrap until it doubles in size.
- Punch down and form dough into eight one-pound loaves or less if your bread pans are larger. I let the dough rise one more time with greased plastic wrap.
- Bake the bread at (350°F) = 176°C) degrees for 27-30 minutes. If your pans are larger you will bake your bread longer. You will love making whole-wheat bread, I promise!!
French Bread In One Hour
How To Make French Bread In One Hour
Ingredients
- 2-1/2 cups hot water
- 4 teaspoons SAF instant yeast
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon Real Salt
- 6 cups white BREAD flour or freshly ground hard white wheat
- egg whites (lather loaves with a brush after first bread rise/cut 4-5 shallow cuts on top of loaves)
- sesame seeds or poppy seeds (optional sprinkle on egg whites before the 2nd bread rise time)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to (400°F) = (204°C) degrees.
- Mix everything in the order shown except the egg whites and optional seeds. Knead for about five minutes in a bread mixer.
- Let rest for 15 minutes covered.
- Shape the dough into 2 loaves and place on a greased cookie sheet.
- Lather the tops of the loaves with the egg whites, and cut four to five shallow slices/slits on top of the loaves. Next, sprinkle seeds if desired.
- Let rise one more time for about 15 minutes covered with greased plastic wrap.
- Remove the plastic wrap. Preheat the oven to (400°F) = (204°C) degrees and bake for 25 minutes.
No Fail-Cinnamon Rolls
Cinnamon Rolls-No Fail Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 Teaspoons SAF Instant Yeast
- 1/2 Cup Water
- 2 Cups Warm Milk
- 1/4 Cup Olive Oil
- 1 Cup Sugar
- 1-1/2 Teaspoons Sea Salt
- 4 Teaspoons Dough Enhancer
- 2 Eggs
- 6-7 Cups White Bread Flour
- 1/2 Cup Softened Butter (1/4 cup for each rectangle of dough)
- Cinnamon-cover the dough with the desired amount of cinnamon. I use a lot of cinnamon!
- 1 Cup Brown sugar (1/2 cup for each rectangle of dough)
Instructions
- First, in a large mixing bowl, whisk together the yeast, warm milk, olive oil, sugar, sea salt, dough enhancer, butter, and eggs.
- Next, add half the flour. Then, keep adding the flour gradually until the dough pulls away from the sides of the mixing bowl.
- Cover your mixing bowl with plastic wrap and place the bowl with the dough on the countertop. You want to let it rise for about an hour.
- After an hour, remove the dough from the bowl. Punch the dough down and roll it into two 12” by 18” rectangles.
- Lather each 12" by 18" rectangle dough with softened butter. Each rectangle will need about 1/4 cup. Add your desired amount of cinnamon on top of the dough. Then, sprinkle 1/4 cup brown sugar on EACH 12" by 18" rectangle of dough.
- Roll the dough tightly into a tube. Then, cut it into 1-1/2-inch rolls. Tuck the "tail" under the cinnamon roll. Place the rolls on a greased cookie sheet and cover them with greased plastic wrap and let them rise one more time for about an hour or until the dough doubles in size.
- Finally, preheat your oven to (350°F) = (176°C). Then, bake your cinnamon rolls on a greased cookie sheet for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown.
Make The Frosting
- Frost your cinnamon rolls while they are still warm so that the frosting melts on top of them.
Notes
-
- Use soft butter. The secret to super tender cinnamon rolls is the butter! You want very soft butter, but not melted butter. Take it out and set it on the counter a few hours before you start the recipe.
- Do Not scoop the flour with the measuring cup! Flour packs tightly so if you use your measuring cup to scoop it, you will use too much flour and your rolls will be dry. Instead, use a spoon to scoop the flour into the measuring cup, and then scrape the excess off with a butter knife.
- Use room temperature butter for the rectangles. When lathering with butter before adding the cinnamon, it’s best to use room temperature butter rather than melted butter. This prevents the cinnamon and brown sugar from seeping out of the sides. Use the back of a spoon to gently spread the soft butter on the dough.
- Don’t overbake the rolls. Your cinnamon rolls should be a golden brown. If you overbake them, they will not be as soft and moist as you would like them. Check them after 15-minutes of baking.
Cream Cheese Frosting
Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 1- eight-ounce cream cheese softened
- 3 to 3-1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1-2 teaspoons vanilla
Instructions
- Cream the butter with the cream cheese and slowly add the powdered sugar to the thickness you desire. Add the vanilla until blended.
White Bread For Two-No-Fail
No-Fail White Bread: 2 Loaves (Must Use Fresh Ingredients)
Ingredients
- 1 cup warm milk
- 2 tsp. SAF instant yeast
- 2 tsp. dough enhancer (optional)
- 1 egg
- 1/8 cup oil-I use olive oil
- 3/4 tsp. sea salt
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup warm water
- 3 to 3-1/2 cups white bread flour
Instructions
- I start with a Bosch bread mixer, although you could make this in a bowl. I put the yeast, warm water, salt, oil, and sugar in the bowl.
- I then add the eggs and lightly mix them in the Bosch so the egg does not “cook”.
- Then I slowly add the warm milk and flour. I continue to add flour until the bread dough pulls away from the sides of the Bosch bowl.
- Then knead the dough for about 7-8 minutes. I place the dough in a greased bowl and cover it with plastic wrap.
- Let the dough rise until it's doubled in size. Then punch down the dough, make it into loaves, and place these in greased pans (this recipe makes two 1-pound loaves).
- I let it rise once again (using the same plastic wrap) until doubled in size.
- Remove the plastic wrap and bake them at 350°F (176°C) for 27-30 minutes. I lightly butter the tops of each loaf after baking and remove them from the pans.
Notes
- I start with a very large skillet and heat the oil one to two inches deep until I can spritz a few drops of water into the oil ever so carefully; then I know it’s hot enough.
Whole Wheat Bread For Two-No-Fail
Whole Wheat Bread For Two
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups warm water
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 cup or so of honey
- 1/2 tablespoon salt
- 1/2 tablespoon SAF instant yeast
- 1/2 tablespoon dough enhancer
- 1/2 tablespoon wheat gluten
- 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 3-1/2 to 4 cups whole wheat flour
Instructions
- Start adding the ingredients in the order shown above with one exception into your mixing bowl…start with 2 cups of flour and slowly add more flour until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. I use a Bosch Mixer.
- I grew up making bread without a mixer. It can be done by hand. I grew up letting my bread rise twice so I still do that. Old habits are hard to break!
- I mix it for 10 minutes in my Bosch. Cover with greased plastic wrap until it doubles in size.
- Punch down and form dough into two one-pound loaves. I let the dough rise one more time with greased plastic wrap.
- Remove the plastic wrap Bake the bread at 350°F (177°C) for 27-30 minutes. If your pans are larger you will bake your bread longer. You will love making whole-wheat bread, I promise!!
Dinner Rolls
Dinner Rolls-No-Fail
Ingredients
- 4 Teaspoons SAF Instant Yeast
- 1/2 cup Water
- 2 Cups Warm Milk
- 1/4 Cup Olive Oil
- 1 Cup Sugar
- 1-1/2 Teaspoons Sea Salt
- 4 Teaspoons Dough Enhancer
- 2 Eggs
- 6-7 Cups White bread flour Add 1/2 of the flour and then add more until the dough pulls away from the sides of the mixing bowl
Instructions
- Place all of the ingredients in order into your mixing bowl. Be careful with the eggs not to add the warm milk too slowly or you will have scrambled eggs.
- Add half of the flour and keep adding the rest of the flour until the bread dough pulls away from the sides of the mixing bowl.
- Cover with greased plastic wrap and let rise the first time for about an hour.
- Punch the dough down and mold it into small balls about 1-1/2 inches to 2 inches in diameter.
- Cover with greased plastic wrap and let rise one more time about an hour or until double the size.
- Remove the plastic wrap and bake at (350°F)= (176°C) degrees for about 15-20 minutes on a greased cookie sheet. Do not overbake.
- They should be golden brown. I spread a little butter on the tops after baking so the rolls are soft on top. If you like a crispier top you can skip this step.
Easy To Make Breadsticks
Breadsticks Fluffy and Delicious
Ingredients
- 4 Teaspoons SAF Instant Yeast
- 1/2 Cup Water
- 2 Cups Warm Milk
- 1/4 Cup Olive Oil
- 1 Cup Sugar
- 1-1/2 Teaspoons Sea Salt
- 4 Teaspoons Dough Enhancer
- 2 Eggs slightly beaten
- 6-7 Cups White Bread Flour
- 1/4 to 1/2 Cup Melted Butter
- Garlic Salt
- Parmesan Cheese
Instructions
- Place all of the ingredients in order into a Bosch Bread Mixer or a very large bowl to mix and knead by hand. The recipe calls for 6-7 cups of white bread flour…you add flour until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
- Knead by hand or machine for 8-10 minutes. Cover with greased plastic wrap and let rise until double in size.
- Roll the dough out after the first rise and cut with a knife or pizza cutter into desired shapes.
- Dip in melted butter and place onto a greased cookie sheet.
- Sprinkle with garlic salt, parmesan cheese, or any desired seasoning of choice.
- Cover with greased plastic wrap and let rise once more. Remove plastic wrap and bake at (350°F) = (176°C) degrees for 12-20 minutes depending on the size of breadsticks you make. Do not overbake. Serve warm right out of the oven.
Hamburger Buns
Hamburger Buns
Ingredients
- 2-3/4 cups flour – I use bread flour
- 2-1/2 tablespoons SAF instant yeast
- 1 teaspoon of sea salt
- 4 tablespoons butter softened
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 2/3 cups parmesan cheese-grated
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 egg
- 2/3 cups water
Instructions
- Combine the ingredients in the order shown above into your Bosch or Kitchen Aid Mixer with a dough hook. This is by far the easiest recipe to make hamburger or hot dog buns (depending on how you shape them).
- I add more flour until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Cover and let rise with some greased plastic wrap for about one hour. Remove plastic and evenly divide the dough into 6 balls.
- Roll each ball, tuck the edges under, and place on a greased cookie sheet. Flatten each ball to about 3-1/2 to 4 inches wide.
- Cover the rolls with plastic wrap and let rise until double. Remove plastic wrap and bake at 350°F) = (176°C) degrees for about 20-25 minutes until golden brown.
If you are looking for bread bags for storing your bread, these are the ones I buy: Bread Bag – 100-count/ Includes 100 Cable Ties.
I’ve started using a bread-making machine again instead of using a stand mixer or my Bosch. I use the machine to mix the bread, but I still cook it in my oven. The brand I use is Zojirushi. I have a great friend in Florida whom I introduced to making bread a few months ago, and she now has one as well. She loves it and makes bread or rolls for her family almost every day.
If you want to have a unique experience, consider making bread in your Dutch oven. It’s fun to cook outside or in your regular oven.
Some Fun Ways to Use Your Homemade Bread
Sure, you can use your bread to make those standard sandwiches for a school lunch or to pack for work. But don’t forget, homemade bread is delicious when making French toast, grilled cheese sandwiches, bread with soup, or just a slice with warm butter, jams, and jellies. We’ve grown to love garlic bread, and have also added some spices or other add-ons for a unique artisan bread option.
Final Word
Please learn how to make bread; it’s really easy to do if you have fresh ingredients. I’ll personally walk you through it every step of the way if you follow the instructions shown, along with the special tips given. Let’s teach the world to be self-reliant, cook from scratch, and love doing so! May God bless this world, Linda
The post How To Make Bread appeared first on Food Storage Moms.
from Food Storage Moms
No comments:
Post a Comment