My Favorite Bread Recipe

My family LOVES homemade bread!  Over the years, I’ve tried several different recipes, but I finally found and adapted a recipe that works well for us.  It is simple and doesn’t take much hands on time, thanks to my Kitchen Aid.  Yes, I used to make it by hand before I bought a Kitchen Aid, and I don’t think I could ever go back to making it by hand because of the time involved.

Ingredients:

• 2 pkg active dry yeast
• 1/4 c. warm water
• 2 1/2 c. hot water
• 1/4 c. honey
• 1 T salt
• 1/4 olive oil
• approx. 8 c. flour

I start by putting 1/4 c. warm water in a bowl and adding the 2 pkg of yeast to soften.

Then, I put the hot water, honey, oil, salt, and 3 c. of the flour into the mixer bowl.  Mix on low speed until well blended.  I want to talk a little about the flour.  I use a combination of unbleached all purpose flour and white whole wheat flour, and it depends on what kind of mood I’m in as to what combinations I use.  The more wheat flour you use, the more dense the bread will be.  The more unbleached flour you use, the lighter the bread will be.  The bread at the top of this post was made with about 2/3 – 3/4 unbleached flour vs. wheat flour.

Add the softened yeast to the bowl and mix until well distributed.  Then, begin adding flour a cup at a time with mixing in between until it is a moderately stiff dough that comes away clean from the sides and bottom of the bowl.

See how the dough is coming cleanly off the sides?

Then, it’s time to let the dough rise.  I usually just leave it in the mixer bowl for this rising and cover it with a dish towel.

When it is doubled in size, it is time to punch it down and divide it between 2 loaf pans that have been sprayed on the sides and bottoms with cooking spray.  Turn on the oven to 350 degrees F and cover the dough in the loaf pans for the final rising.  When the dough is approximately double in size, place the pans in the 350 degree oven for approximately 30 minutes.

When the bread is a lovely golden brown both on the top and on the bottom (lighter brown on the bottom), it is time to take the bread out.  Remove the bread from the loaf pans and place on a cooling rack.

My Favorite Bread Recipe

2014-05-06 23:45:33

A simple bread recipe that uses unbleached flour and whole white wheat flour for a more natural taste.

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Ingredients

1. 2 pkg active dry yeast
2. 1/4 c. warm water
3. 2 1/2 c. hot water
4. 1/4 c. honey
5. 1 T salt
6. 1/4 c. oil (olive oil)
7. approx. 8 c. flour (mix of unbleached all purpose and white whole wheat)

Instructions

1. Soften active dry yeast in 1/4 warm water. Place bowl to the side.
2. Combine hot water, honey, salt, oil, and approx. 3 c. of flour in mixer bowl.
3. Mix well.
4. Add softened yeast mixture to dough and mix well.
5. Add in 1 c. of flour and mix.
6. Repeat previous step until the dough is moderately stiff and sides of mixer bowl come clean.
7. Remove mixer bowl from mixer and cover bowl with dough in it with a kitchen towel until dough is approx. double in size.
8. Punch dough down.
9. Divide dough into 2 sections. Shape each section into a loaf shape and place each in an oiled loaf pan.
10. Cover loaf pans with a kitchen towel and allow dough to rise until double in size.
11. Bake for 30-35 minutes at 350 degrees F.

By Adaptation by Naomi of This Roller Coaster Called Life

This Roller Coaster Called Life https://thisrollercoastercalledlife.com/