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My {Favorite} Homemade Bread Recipe

May 20, 2012 by Shatzi

If you are a carb hater…look away.  Or, if you love carbs, but white bread give you the chills…you have been warned.  But, I’m telling you, this bread is perfection.  You’ll be sorry you missed out!  It’s soft and chewy on the inside with just the right amount of crust (not overly crusty like some homemade bread can be).  It is delicious with a bowl of soup or made into a sandwich.  To be completely honest, I hardly ever make this yummy bread because when I do, I tend to each way too much.

homemade bread

There’s lot of steps in this tutorial, but don’t let that scare you.  Making homemade bread is really pretty easy.


Here’s what you need to make a couple of loaves of your own:
homemade bread ingredients

To get started, put 3 cups of flour into your stand mixer. (If you have a bread machine…stay tuned. I’ll include directions at the bottom with the recipe!)
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Then add 1 Tablespoon of yeast, 1 Tablespoon of Dough Enhancer, and 2 Tablespoons of Vital Wheat Gluten.  If you’ve ever wondered the secret to really tall homemade bread, add Dough Enhancer and Vital Wheat Gluten! I got mine from the regular grocery store in the baking section, but if you can’t find it there, I know you can order them both online.  I add it to every homemade bread recipe I find even when they aren’t included in the ingredients list.
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After adding those three ingredients, mix them together with the dough hook.  Then, just leave that part alone for a minute.
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Meanwhile, you need to get the liquids ready. In a saucepan, add 2 1/4 Cups of milk.
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1 Tablespoon of butter (Salted or Unsalted…it really doesn’t matter),
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2 Tablespoons of sugar, and 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt.
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Stir in the salt and sugar until it’s pretty much dissolved.  You’ll want to check again after you’ve heated it up to make sure there isn’t any left on the bottom of the pan.
Take the saucepan over to the stove and heat the milk up. Watch it closely to make sure you don’t over heat the milk.  You want it just scalded. It’s scalded when the edges just start to bubble. If you have a candy thermometer, you don’t want it to go over 120 degrees.
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See how there is a the edge of the pan has some frothy bubbles and the butter has just started to melt?  That’s how you scald milk. Remove it from the heat and let the butter melt.  If you’re in a hurry, just stir the butter in and it’ll melt faster.

When the butter is all melted, add the milk mixture to the flour mixture and stir with the dough hook.
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Stir it until the ingredients are all wet and then set the timer for 3 minutes and let it do it’s thing.  Make sure there are no flour pockets stuck on the side or the bottom.  I usually scrape the sides of the bowl with a wooden spoon periodically.
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When it’s done stirring, add 3 more cups of flour.
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Then stir again. This time, set the timer for 5 minutes. It really works your stand mixer, so I usually mix it on the lowest setting.
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As it stirs (or really kneads) the dough, the gluten starts to get activated. That’s what makes the bread so chewy. When it’s done mixing, transfer the dough to a bowl. Drizzle about 1 tablespoon of olive oil on the dough and turn the dough several times in the bowl to coat the outside. This will help prevent the dough from drying out while it’s rising.

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Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put it in a warm place to rise. It usually takes about an hour.
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It needs to rise until double in size. When mine is done, it fills the whole bowl completely.  Do you want to know a trick to getting your dough to rise faster?  Preheat your oven to the lowest setting.  Turn it off as soon as it’s preheated. Then, put your dough in the warm oven to rise.
This recipe is enough for 2 loaves, so when it’s completely risen, divide the dough in half. Then, roll out each half into a rectangle. It doesn’t have to be perfect. =)
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Roll up the dough jelly-roll style.
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And put it in a greased loaf pan and cover with plastic wrap. I almost always grease the inside of the plastic wrap so the dough doesn’t stick as it gets larger.
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Let your dough rise again. You want it to get really tall like this:
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It will rise more in the oven, but you want it to do most of the rising before baking. When it’s ready, bake at 350 degrees  for 30 minutes. That’s another thing I do with all bread, no matter the recipe. 350 for 30 minutes no matter what. Mine always turns out better that way.
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See how nice and tall it turned out? Just like store-bought bread. But way better tasting!
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If you can wait, let it cool off. Then you can enjoy a slice with homemade strawberry freezer jam.

CLICK HERE FOR THE PRINTABLE RECIPE (INCLUDING HOW TO MAKE THIS IN YOUR BREAD MACHINE)

Filed Under: Recipes

Comments

  1. Thrifty Crafty Girl says

    May 20, 2012 at 12:27 pm

    I love homemade bread! I think people think it’s way harder to make than it actually is. I have a loaf rising now!

  2. Chrissy @ Adventures in DIY says

    May 20, 2012 at 1:08 pm

    Hi Shatzi – thanks for stopping by my blog.
    This looks super yummy! Seriously – I wish I could reach into the computer screen and take a bite. :) I’ve never made bread, but your instructions are clear and make it seem “do-able” to me. I just might have to try it someday.

  3. Chrissy Taylor says

    May 20, 2012 at 1:42 pm

    There is nothing better than homemade bread! I love making it! I am a new follower from the blog hop! I love your blog and can’t wait to read more! Love and Laundry is such agreat name! :)

  4. Thrifty Miss Smith says

    May 20, 2012 at 5:46 pm

    Hey there! Thanks again for the tip. ;)

  5. Eva says

    May 20, 2012 at 8:06 pm

    I’m hopping to say hi as your newest follower! I would love if you would check out my blog and if you like what you see please follow back :)

    -Eva-
    http://theevasofbellabini.blogspot.com/

  6. Rebecca @ My Girlish Whims says

    May 21, 2012 at 7:43 am

    Looks yummy!!! Never tried making my own bread before, i’m a little scared i will mess it up haha

    Thanks for linking up to the blog hop!

  7. Lianne @ a content housewife {blog} says

    May 21, 2012 at 10:07 am

    Wow! This totally looks do-able!! I have never made bread in my life but I have always wanted to attempt it! This gives me hope! I will try this ASAP!!

    Thanks for stopping by my blog!

    xoxo

  8. Alli @ Cupcake Diaries says

    May 21, 2012 at 10:15 am

    Thanks for following my blog! I’m your newest follower. And this bread recipe looks amazing! I can’t wait to try it!

  9. Rachel says

    May 21, 2012 at 5:32 pm

    Carb lover and bread baker here…awesome tutorial on homemade bread. I love the picture at end of strawberry jam slathered on the end piece!

  10. Rebekah says

    May 21, 2012 at 6:08 pm

    Stopping by from the Blog Hop and following! That bread looks so good. I might just have to attempt that!

  11. Kadie says

    May 21, 2012 at 9:37 pm

    My mouth is totaly watering!! I adore homemade bread! I am going to have to try out your recipe. Thanks for stopping by my blog and for the wonderful comment. I am happily following you and your lovely blog.:)

  12. Amber Epperson says

    May 22, 2012 at 10:36 pm

    Seriously! I can’t wait to make this tomorrow! Thanks for sharing!

  13. Leslie says

    May 25, 2012 at 1:29 pm

    Hi Shatzi!

    I have an award for you over on my blog. Please stop by and check it out!

    xo, Leslie

  14. Phil and Darby Hawley says

    May 25, 2012 at 8:08 pm

    This looks absolutely scrumptious!

  15. Becolorful says

    May 30, 2012 at 2:29 pm

    Yes, you are killing me. :D We are gearing up for June of Doom. Nothing white, and double work outs. This will have to wait until July. lol Thank you though for sharing this week on BeColorful.
    pr

  16. hannahw says

    June 4, 2012 at 7:30 pm

    Oh goodness thatlooks delicious!

  17. Shelby @ The Bean Sprout Notes says

    June 4, 2012 at 9:17 pm

    You make this look so easy! Unfortunately, I’ve failed more than care to admit with the BREAD MACHINE, I can’t imagine what a from scratch loaf would look like under my care ;)

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