How to make homemade bread?
There is nothing quite like the wonderful taste of bread. And there’s nothing like homemade bread, fresh from the oven! If you think baking your own bread is complicated, think again. It’s now easier than ever to make your own bread, whether in a conventional oven, in a bread machine and even in a slow cooker.
Here are some easy tips and recipes for making homemade bread in the comfort of your home. Good recipe!
1. Why bake your own bread?
What are the advantages of making homemade bread? First, the cost. It is much cheaper to make bread than to buy it at the bakery. Then, the possibility of always having fresh bread, because it can be easily stored in the freezer. But above all, who doesn’t want that wonderful scent of freshly baked bread in their home?
If ever your bread is no longer fresh then turn it into breadcrumbs! Come discover the steps here: How to make homemade breadcrumbs?
2. Tips for successful homemade bread
Although making homemade bread is relatively easy, there are some tips and tricks to ensure success. Here are a few :
- Choose your flour wisely : some will give a very soft bread, while others will create a heavier and denser dough.
- Water quality : If your tap water is chlorinated or hard, you will not get good results. Choose bottled water, the purest possible. Also, make sure the water is lukewarm!
- salt and sugar : add a very small pinch of sugar to the salt when you mix it with your yeast, this will activate the yeast more quickly. In addition, it will absolutely be necessary to respect the quantity of salt mentioned in the recipe.
- The right temperature : when lifting, make sure that the room is at a temperature of about 25 degrees Celsius, and that there is no draft passing through it. An interesting tip, let your dough rise in the oven off, but with the light on. This will create just enough heat to pass this crucial step.
3. Easy Bread Dough Recipe
This very simple recipe does not require any special equipment, apart from an enameled cast iron casserole dish, and requires very few ingredients:
- 3 cups flour (whole wheat, kamut, spelled, white or a mixture)
- 1 ¼ to 1 ½ cups lukewarm water
- 1 teaspoon instant yeast
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- An enameled cast iron casserole dish
In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add 1 ¼ cup of lukewarm water and mix with your hands for a few minutes. If the dough lacks water, add a little. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise for a minimum of 3 hours.
When the dough has finished rising, heat the oven to 230 degrees Celsius and put the casserole dish and its lid in it. When the oven has reached its temperature, take the casserole out. Make a ball with the dough and put it in the casserole and close the lid. Cook for 20 minutes, then remove the lid and continue cooking for about 10-15 minutes.
And why not make your own bread yeast rather than buying it? You will find in this article: Making homemade bread yeast, several easy-to-make baker’s yeast recipes.
4. Homemade buns
- 2 cups boiling milk
- 2 teaspoons of salt
- 4 beaten eggs
- 7 cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup of sugar
- ½ cup of butter
- 2 packets of quick instant yeast
- ½ cup lukewarm water
Start by dissolving the yeast in lukewarm water. Then, in a large bowl, pour the boiling milk over the sugar, salt and butter. Wait until the mixture is lukewarm, then add the yeast, the eggs and then the flour, gradually. Stir until you get a smooth batter, and let stand until the batter doubles in size. Roll out the dough and make small balls of bread. Let rise a little more. Bake at 150 degrees Celsius for 25-30 minutes.
Bread machines are a great way to regularly bake homemade bread without all the work and attention to detail that traditional breads can require. They come with a variety of features and in different price ranges.
Here are some questions to ask yourself before buying a bread machine:
- Do you plan to use it regularly?
- What type of bread do you want to make?
Then, a few points to consider in order to make your choice:
- The size of the tank
- The features offered
- The power of the machine
- the size of the device (do you have space to store it?)
- The price
There are several models on the market, and it can be difficult to make a choice without asking yourself these few questions. Once you answer that, you can make an informed choice and get yourself the perfect bread maker for your needs.
6. An interesting bread machine
The bread maker from the Moulinex company is not only well rated on Amazon, but it also sells for a very reasonable price. This compact machine has 12 different programs, including one for gluten-free bread, and comes with a book of 27 bread recipes.
7. Bake slow cooker bread?
This other popular device indeed allows you to make some interesting bread recipes. Here’s a basic one worth trying:
Slow Cooker Basic Bread:
- 330 milliliters of lukewarm water
- 1 packet of 8 grams instant quick-rise yeast
- 15 milliliters of honey
- 500 milliliters of all-purpose flour
- 180 milliliters whole wheat flour
- 15 milliliters of sugar
- 5 milliliters of salt
- 30 milliliters of olive oil
In a small bowl, combine the water, yeast and honey, and let stand for 5 minutes. In a large bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients. Then, add the liquid mixture, and incorporate well. Knead the dough for 10 minutes. Cover the bottom of the slow cooker with parchment paper, and place the ball of dough in it. Cover the opening of the slow cooker with sheets of absorbent paper (paper towels), but be careful that they do not touch the bread. Hold them together with the lid. At high temperature, bake the bread between 1h30 and 2h30. Take the bread out of the slow cooker and let it cool before slicing.
To accompany your homemade bread, how about making a homemade cheese recipe? Come read this other article: How to make homemade cheese?