In an effort to cut our budget I took to Pinterest for ideas. One of which was baking bread at home rather than buying store bought. Rather than $1.50 on average for a loaf you can bake it at home for pennies!
Of course when I bake bread we usually eat it much faster and just by itself so who knoif I’m saving. Homemade bread will also mold much quicker due to less preservatives and icky ingredients, so it isn’t a bad idea to store in a sealed container in the freezer if it will take more than two days to eat.
Now honestly, baking bread from scratch sounds intimidating. Proofing yeast? What is that, right? It’s actually incredibly easy, and nothing beats the taste of good homemade bread! I am not someone who claims to be good at baking and I can bake bread! In just a few steps you can also enjoy the aroma and tastes of a homemade loaf of bread!
Ingredients
– 2 cups warm water
– 1/2 cup granulated sugar (divided)
– 1 1/2 TBSP instant or active dry yeast
– 1 1/2 TSP salt
– 1/4 vegetable or canola oil
– 5 1/2 cups flour (all purpose or bread flour)
Instructions
- Start by proofing your yeast, this is a very simple process that takes about 5 minutes. Aim for luke-warm water, too hot and it will kill your yeast. The recommended temperature is 105*. To do this combine your warm water, yeast, and 1 TBSP of sugar. Combine and let sit until it becomes foamy, the yeast will cover the surface of the water.
- Add the rest of the sugar, oil, salt. Slowly add in the flour a little at a time. Mix until completely combined.
- Now its time to knead the bread, this step is crucial to get the perfect bread texture! If you have a mixer and bread hook kneed for 7 minutes. If you are needing by hand it will take 10-11 minutes, depending on how consistently you can do it.
- Coat a bowl with your choice of oil and place your dough inside. I use a damp towel to cover my dough, you could also use plastic wrap. Cover your dough and allow your dough to rise for approximately an hour, or until it doubles in size.
- Punch your dough down after it has finished risen, kneed for another minute, then divide into two sections. Place dough in loaf plans and allow to rise for another 30 minutes. Dough should rise an inch above the side of the pans.
- Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes. Allow to cool and brush tops with butter.
