How to: Make Your Own Bread

Today we have become accustomed to picking up our bread at the grocery store and most of us have never felt the satisfaction of kneading and molding homemade bread for our families.

That is truly a sad thing as learning to make homemade bread at home can truly lower your food costs. A loaf of homemade bread made with ingredients bought on sale or in bulk can run as low as 50 cents a loaf.

If you want better fresher bread try homemade bread for big savings and a valuable vintage skill. Learn how to make your own homemade bread today.

When you make your bread from scratch you may find your family eats well A LOT more of it which in turn will fill tummies and leave your family spending less on food overall. Once you master the basic bread dough you can use it to make almost all of the bread products your family uses. This one recipe can make loafs of bread, hot dog and hamburger buns, cinnamon rolls, flavored bread, pizza crust, and dinner rolls. The possibilities are endless.

Basic homemade Bread Recipe:

:: 1 cup warm water (110-115 degrees)

:: 1 Tbsp. of yeast or 1 package (buying yeast in bulk can get this for pennies on the dollar)

:: 2/3 Cup sugar (you can reduce this to 1/2 cup for a slightly less sweet but cheaper bread)

:: 1 tsp. salt

:: 1/4 cup oil or melted butter

:: 1 cup water or milk (water lowers the overall cost)

:: 6-7 cups flour

:: 2 loaf pans (glass loaf baking pans works the best)

How to make homemade bread:

Combine warm water and yeast until yeast dissolves. Add sugar, salt, oil, and water. Stir in flour 1/2 cup at a time. Knead on a floured surface until smooth. Let rise until doubles in size. Form into the desired shape.

Place in greased loaf pans, Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes until loaves are golden brown and sound hollow when you tap the top. Remove and cool before serving. Makes 2 loves.

How to get soft fluffy homemade bread without a bread maker:

So many these days do not even try making bread from scratch as they fear they need a bread maker to do it. The truth is you do not need a bread machine at all to make homemade bread.

Long before those electronic devices were created women made bread every day some for rather large families and all without a machine. The two tricks I use to get the softest fluffiest bread is simple.

First knead the bread well. This can truly be a great way to get out your frustrations. Kneading is also great for the arms so enjoy the benefits or set the kids to work.

Your dough should be smooth and elastic. Two give your bread the best advantage to rise. I shape before letting my bread and rolls rise. Pizza crust needs to be beaten down but the rest not so much.

To help the dough rise well and come out light and fluffy I heat the oven just a bit with a pan of water inside. Then turn it off and slide the bread in covered with a damp flour sack towel and let it rise. Remove the towel and bake with the pan of water still in the oven.

How to give the top of your homemade bread color:

You can affect to the color of the top of your bread with an egg wash but such is not necessary and leaving it out will lower the cost of your bread.

If you prefer the egg wash it is a simple thing to do. For a shine without color use a well-beaten egg white with one teaspoon of water. To get color and shine beat egg white and yolk together.

Serve homemade bread:

Homemade bread can be used in the sale way the bread your buy at the market. Keeping an assortment of homemade jams, jellies, and preserves on hand can make your homemade bread the perfect side to any meal or a satisfying snack.

In the summer I bake our bread at night or use a solar oven to reduce the heat in the house.