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Homemade bread is significantly tastier than store-bought bread, not laden with chemicals, it’s not laden with refined sugars, and it’s not all that expensive to make, either.
So, if you are trying to decide on a healthier alternative to regular white bread, you might want to give making your own bread a try. There are many recipes out there for your to choose from, so it can be tough to know which one to try. This article will provide you with a few ideas for bread recipes that you might find interesting.
Bread is a very popular recipe that most people will use for their first homemade bread recipes. However, you don’t have to make a loaf of bread to enjoy the delicious flavor of bread. You can make some really simple bread to use as a sandwich or as a quick bread with dinner. Some recipes call for just a bit of yeast and water and you can get some great tasting bread this way.
The other great thing about making your own easy homemade bread recipes is that you don’t have to wait for them to rise and bake. Breads take up very little time in the oven and you can have them ready to eat in a flash. All you have to do is mix the ingredients together, set aside, and then heat your oven.
It is very important to follow the directions carefully for each recipe and not to over-cook the bread. If you do overcook it you will ruin the flavor.
Bread recipes come in all sorts of flavors, including things like peanut butter and jelly, sourdough, and sourdough bread. The more traditional recipes may call for bread flour, but there are also recipes that use cornmeal, rice flour, or sorghum flour. When choosing which flour to use you should remember that bread flour is cheaper and has a better flavor, but it has less protein content.
The amount of sugar in your bread will depend on what you use for your bread. For instance, you won’t use too much sugar if you are using honey in your bread recipe, as the sugar in honey gives your bread a sweet taste. However, for other recipes you will need to include a little sugar if you want to create bread that has a nice flavor. If you use wheat flour instead of all purpose flour, you can still enjoy the flavor of wheat bread.
Once you begin baking homemade bread, you will notice that the bread doesn’t stick to the pan. Most people find that after they add a few drops of oil to their bread and the pan they start to stick on the first try. The solution is to keep cooking. Try stirring frequently to keep the bread from sticking to the pan and eventually it will stop sticking. It takes some practice to figure this out, but once you have mastered it you won’t have to use the stick-a-knife approach anymore.
Bread is naturally gluten free, so it is good to be aware of any gluten if it is present in the bread that you are making. If it is not present it will not be difficult to eat the bread. Check the ingredients label to find out if the bread contains any gluten before you start eating.
Homemade bread can be made into a breakfast, or eaten on its own or used as a main course when you are entertaining guests. The key is to keep it light on the stomach while still containing enough fiber for good digestion and absorbing the flavors of the ingredients. You can use the whole wheat bread to make a nice omelet or use the all-purpose flour for making crackers.
One of the most rewarding ways of saving money has to be learning to bake your own bread. However for many the process can seem overwhelming – critical points like the temperature of the water, what’s the correct technique to knead the dough, how long to knead the dough, all of these things are enough to send the novice baker back to the supermarket for a wrapped loaf of mass produced factory bread!
It’s a real shame as homemade crusty bread is so much better than anything you can buy encased in plastic and it is cheaper too at around half the price of the average wrapped loaf.
But sometimes, no matter how enthusiastic you are, reading books on how to make great bread at home, although inspiring, can make the whole procedure seem more like a science lesson than something fun to do on a Saturday afternoon in your kitchen.
Chefs and artisan bread makers will give you formulas and techniques to make super wet doughs and long fermenting times for full flavour but for an everyday white crusty loaf, like you used to buy from the baker, perfect for your Sunday morning bacon butty, the whole process is simple and straightforward. It’s a great activity to do with kids as well because, unlike pastry, the dough cannot be overworked.
So I want to encourage anyone who thinks they cannot make bread or hates the thought of all that wet sloppy dough sticking to their fingers to grab their stand mixer and try this recipe for tasty, fresh crusty bread – your taste buds and your family will love you for it!
Making Delicious Homemade Crusty Bread
Ingredients
325 grams warm water – just pleasantly warm when you put your finger in it…not too hot
10 grams salt
15 grams vegetable oil
500 grams strong white bread flour
7 grams fast action yeast
Equipment
Stand mixer with a dough hook – we use a Kitchen Aid but we also have a Kenwood Chef, both give excellent results!
Digital Scales – for consistent results and ease of measuring the ingredients
Tea towel or muslin
A 2lb loaf tin – metal is so much better than silicone!
Method
Into the stand mixer’s bowl first add the 325g of warm water.
Next add the salt and the oil to the water then the 500g of bread flour.
Finally sprinkle the yeast on top of the flour and very gently, using your fingertips just mix the yeast lightly into the flour to distribute it evenly.
Now using the dough hook, mix on the lowest speed until a dough is formed then turn up the speed to the next level (no.1) and let the mixer do all of the hard work kneading the dough for 10 minutes.
When the 10 minutes is up, tip the dough out and shape into a neat ball. Place the dough back into the bowl and cover with a damp cloth – a tea towel or similar (I use a piece of muslin) – and leave in a warm, draught free place for about an hour until the dough has doubled in size. If the room is cool this may take a bit longer.
I the meantime, grab your tin that you will be baking the bread in and use a pastry brush to lightly oil the inside then coat thoroughly with flour, turning the tin upside down and giving it a sharp tap to remove the excess.
When the dough is ready, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently for only a few seconds to knock it back – this is done to remove the large air bubbles that have formed and you will get a lovely even texture to your finished bread.
Now to shape the dough ready to go into the tin you need to flatten it into a rectangle with your fingers so that the shortest edge is as wide as the length of the tin you are using. Now the dough is rolled so take the edge of the dough nearest to you (the shorter edge) and fold it into the middle, pressing the edge down to seal it in the middle of the dough then continue to roll the dough so that the seam is underneath and you have a sausage shape.
Place the dough into the tin and cover with the damp cloth then leave to rise again until doubled in size. This usually takes about 1 to 1 ½ hours.
Preheat your oven to 220°c fan / 240°c /475°f / gas 9 and, when its ready, bake your bread just below the middle of the oven for 30 minutes.
Keep an eye on the crust to make sure it doesn’t brown too much for taste. If it is looking a little dark then reduce the heat. As soon as it is cooked, remove from the tin and cool on a wire rack.
The beauty of making your everyday bread this way is that it takes very little hands on time – while its rising you can easily leave it all alone and go off and do something exciting!
Please, if you love good bread, give this a go and let me know how you get on. If you have any questions, pop them in the comments below.
What we used:
Click on the photos for more information
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Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer
Digital Weighing Scales
2lb Loaf Tin
How to Store Homemade Bread
There are many good ways to store homemade bread. They come in all shapes, sizes, and flavors and can be stored for many years. If you do not have a pre-made bread box, then you can simply use a Ziploc container or Saran wrap.
Plastic bags are great for keeping bread fresh because they keep the moisture out, so that when you open up the box, your bread will be as soft as the day you made it. However, if you do not have a box, then you will use plastic or Saran wrap to store your bread.
If you do not like the taste of your homemade bread, then you will simply throw it away and start over with another loaf. However, there are ways to make your bread last longer and taste better.
One way is by baking it the right way. Bread should always come out in perfect wedges. You may want to bake your bread in a small pan instead of a larger one, this way the bread will bake more evenly. Baking a full loaf will require that you bake it until it reaches an internal temperature of 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Once it has reached its target temperature, then you will cover it tightly with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge.
Baking is best done at night when the oven is off. When it comes out the next morning, take a slice of your bread and place it in the fridge right away. It will take some time, but if you leave it in the fridge, then you can store it there for up to four days, depending on what time of day you bake it.
Another bread storage tips is to use plastic wrap to store your bread during the winter. It will help keep it out of the weather and also makes it easy to get into the oven during the winter months. During the summer months, you will not want to place your bread in the refrigerator as it will get extremely hot and will bake very fast. Baking bread in the summer will take too long.
Plastic is also great for storing leftovers and snacks. The longer the plastic remains, the better the storage. Your bread will be longer and less prone to breaking. The reason why many people love using plastic is that it is easy to clean.
Now that you know how to store homemade bread properly, it is time to start eating it! Be sure to enjoy it for many years to come.
If you have been making homemade bread for a while, it may be hard to keep track of all of the different things you use. If you find that it is difficult to remember what you started, then you may want to invest in a chart so you can see your progress as you continue to make your bread.
Once you have the chart for how to store homemade bread properly, you will want to keep track of how much you have made in each batch. When you make more bread, you will want to make more so that you are able to use up all of the ingredients in each batch.
One of the biggest mistakes that many people make when they try to know how to store homemade bread properly is leaving it in the fridge overnight. If you do this, then you will only have a small amount left at the end of the day.
The bread will quickly go stale if it stays in the fridge all night, so it is better to have a little left at the end of the day. As much as possible, make it a habit to put your bread in the fridge early in the morning so that you can use up the leftovers at the end of the day.
Knowing how to store homemade bread is important if you want to make delicious bread every day of the week. In addition to knowing how to store it properly, it is important to know when to eat your bread.
Homemade Bread Without Yeast
The smell of freshly baked homemade bread just oozes out from the oven with just a touch of the air. If you are fortunate enough to have an oven, you are probably making a loaf or two of this delicious bread for lunch. There’s nothing quite like the aroma of freshly baked homemade bread which comes out of your oven.
It has a welcoming, warm feeling associated with it. But there are many people who don’t have access to an oven. They might make do with some other method to produce this bread. Here are a few ways you can prepare homemade bread in your own home.
To make bread at home, you should first have bread flour powder. All you need to mix it up is your eggs and half cup water.
Then you should use this mixture to knead the dough. After that, you are all set to bake the bread!
Another option you can try is to make your own yeast. To do so, you just need to soak some yeast into warm water for 30 minutes. It should then be ready to use.
When you use your own bread with yeast, it is important that you make sure you follow the directions for the recipe you choose. If you make something different, your homemade bread will likely taste very bad.
You also need to learn how to use today’s yeast. It’s best to go for the plain, unseasoned type. This makes your bread tastes fresh and is also more likely to have a higher shelf life.
Don’t forget to snack on some of your homemade bread while it’s baking. You should be able to eat it while you wait for it to come out of the oven!
If you’re using a cast iron skillet, the key to creating a good crust is to coat it well with oil. You can use olive oil or vegetable oil if you prefer, but using a vegetable oil helps it last longer and also provides better flavor.
You can add toppings, too, to the top of your bread, like some cheese, chives or other items, as long as you make sure they get cooked through before you use them. You can also cut in herbs and spices for a little extra flavor.
To make your homemade bread look better, you can season it right on the pan with some cooking spray. before you put the topping on. Or, if you’d like to, you can spray the skillet and let it sit while you do this.
Next, after it has cooled, you can put it in the oven and bake it. You can use a preheated pizza stone or even a baking sheet for that final finishing touch.
If you’re looking for that taste that comes from a favorite bread recipe, try using some flavored oil, if that’s what you’re using. You can use such things as peanut butter or cinnamon for chocolate or vanilla.
Making homemade bread is definitely easier than it used to be. Not only is it cheaper and healthier, but it’s also fun!
You can experiment with different spices to suit your taste, adding flavors like nutmeg or cloves to your favorite bread recipe, or even add some Rosemary. You can mix up the dough with different ingredients to create different tastes.
There are many different kinds of breads available to make, so you won’t have to give up anything. Just look around your kitchen and you’ll find lots of ideas for making bread that will impress even the pickiest of palates.
Remember, not all bread is made the same way. It’s okay to try new things until you get the hang of it, and you start getting a feel for it.
In the end, homemade bread is really simple and cheap and very tasty! So, why not try it and see if it works for you!