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How To Make Bread (without a bread machine)

intro
 

introHow To Make Bread (without a bread machine)

This is an easy, basic recipe for bread and does not require much skill. There is more than one way to make bread, this is one of them.
Don't worry if it's not the way your mom used to make it, bread making is not an exact science... :-)
How To Make Bread (without a bread machine)
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step 1What you'll need
You will need:-Yeast (2 Tbsp.)-Hot-ish water (2 cups)*-Bread flour (5 cups total, 2 for the sponge and 3 for later. (NOT regular flour))-Sugar (2 Tbsp.)-Salt (2 tsp.)-Oil (2 Tbsp.)-3 loaf pans-Quick read thermometer-Oven (well, duh)*Hot-ish means between 80 and 100 degrees farenheit. much colder …

step 2Make the sponge
Start by mixing the hot water and the flour. Then, add 2 Tbsp. sugar, 2 Tbsp. oil, 2 Tbsp. yeast, and 2 tsp. salt. This is called the sponge, what you are doing is getting the yeast warm, happy, and ready to go.Let this sit for about 8 or 10 minutes, it'll be ready when it's bubbly.

step 3add some flour and knead it
Now you need to add about 3 more cups of flour. I added a little less this time, it really depends on the humidity and how exact your measurements were in the sponge step.Sometime after the first cup and a half it'll get too thick to stir. At this point you should flip it onto a clean floured su…

step 4let it rise...
let it rise in a warm place for about 45 minutes to an hour. It should be about doubled in size by the time it's finished.

step 5Put it in the loaf pans
Punch the dough down (Yes, punch it. Have at it. Beat the heck out of it. Just don't make a mess), then divide it into 3 parts. Spray the pans and put the dough in. Let it rise again in the pans (covered) until it looks like the second picture.

step 6Bake it
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and put the loaves in.Bake them for about 25 minutes. Your quick read thermometer should read between 180 and 190 degrees. Pull the loaves out and place them on their sides on a rack, after a few seconds slide them out of the pans and onto the rack. Let them cool.

step 7Eat the stuff!
Man that bread is good. My brother and I ate a whole loaf shortly after it came out of the oven. You can do so much with this recipe it's not even funny. Well, maybe it is a little......You can add nuts, roll it out and add cinnamon for cinnamon swirl bread, add your favorite spices, etc.It's you…

168 comments
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Dec 11, 2009. 10:45 PMumadabumada says:
Its really a Laymen bread making.May God bless you man
Dec 6, 2009. 2:09 AMnightninja87 says:
hi i love this ible i read through it and seen u wrote 80-100 i been reading through a new bread book and it says 110 to 115 was wondering your opinion on it
Nov 23, 2009. 9:27 AMjhines0042 says:
I want to make bread that includes a vegetable of some variety.  My first instinct is to add finely shredded spinach.  I would also love to try with broccoli.

Any advice on when and how to add such things?

Thanks!
Nov 23, 2009. 8:18 PMjhines0042 says:
Ok, I went ahead and made this bread.  One loaf was plain, one got a treatment of Spinach that had been food processed to fine confetti size and one got the Spinach but was baked into 4 smaller roll style loafs.

Plain loaf is already gone and it was yummy!
Oct 28, 2009. 11:27 AMsamiesamsam says:
what would happen if you were to use regular flour?
Nov 22, 2009. 4:38 PMouzelum says:
Bread flour has malted barley flour and some additives in it.  The barley gives the yeast more stuff to eat and makes the bread rise better.  The other stuff apparently helps with the consistency as well.
Use bread flour if at all possible.
Nov 6, 2009. 5:08 PMMT-LB says:
i made it, but i mistook the 2 tsp of salt for 2 tbsp, and it wasnt edible. but it was so easy i will make it again with less salt
Nov 4, 2009. 9:29 PMLulu82 says:
This bread is sooo yummy, I made a batch earlier and used it to make hotdog and cheese buns soo good that my boyf ate them all up I am making another batch. mmm
Oct 14, 2009. 5:13 PMWolfbird says:
This bread is my new god. Srsly, it's that awesome.
Oct 7, 2009. 8:47 PMchillyp says:
Made the bread for the third time and it's still bada$$!!!! Love it.
Oct 6, 2009. 3:26 PMchrinopoly87 says:
thanks for the recipe! my dough is rising as i type here.
Oct 4, 2009. 1:55 AMsomarx says:
thx it's really useful i added some olives inside the bread yummmmmmmmy
Sep 20, 2009. 10:48 AMqballcat says:
im on the first rise and it doesnt look anything like yours, its hard and hard to knead so im letting it rise to see what happened, can i put in some water to see?
Sep 20, 2009. 10:49 AMqballcat says:
sorry, can i put in some water to see if it looks better
Sep 6, 2009. 2:08 PMhilo890 says:
MMM! That tasted delicious! Great instructions AND recipe!
Aug 20, 2009. 7:19 AMkayleighsampson says:
im currently on this step, have put it in the airing cupboard :)
its a really good recipe.. and clear instructions.. thankyou :)
Aug 14, 2009. 9:31 PMkay us11 says:
I am so grateful, I could build a dream business with this. thanks
Aug 8, 2009. 10:24 PMasdterror says:
If you're having trouble with your yeast try the baguette yeast sponge. Mix however much yeast your recipe calls for with about 1/3 the amount of total flour. Add enough water to make a thick batter and let it rise overnight. Then follow the recipe normally. This adds a lot of flavor to the bread. Sometimes I do I quasi-sourdough by adding a half cup of flour and a bit of water to the sponge every twelve hours until I have about 2/3 the amount of flour the recipe calls for. This is kinda in line with abhix1's "It just takes longer to rise", but at least now you have an excuse. Just put it in an off oven and try not to think about it. :)
Aug 1, 2009. 2:55 PMsymbe says:
Thanks a bunch, I have just baked a lovely bread. This is my first time
Jul 28, 2009. 8:58 PMchillyp says:
When you say Oil what kind have you tried? I'd go with Olive, but I'm curious in what you have chosen?
Jul 1, 2009. 6:50 PMMuzhik says:
After dividing the dough, roll it out and sprinkle it with chocolate chips and sugar. Roll it up and put it in the pan seam-side down, then let it rise and bake. Serve with children and milk. Or skip the children and eat it all yourself with tea. (Children take too long to bake.)
Jul 1, 2009. 9:15 PMgenius245 says:
And they won't fit in my oven.
Jul 2, 2009. 9:36 AMMuzhik says:
Go to http://www.rocketstove.org/ , click on the "Bread Oven" item on the left side, and download the "Rocket Baking Oven Construction Manual" PDF file. Size up as needed.

Then do a Google search on using high-fructose corn syrup as a mortar to cement various baked items when making your house, and you'll be good to go.
Jun 26, 2009. 3:01 PMandyr354 says:
Never did see a response on making it wheat bread instead? Anybody have a process or another recipe to point me to? I don't like cooking with refined flour. Andy
Jun 27, 2009. 12:43 AMycc2106 says:
Whole wheat, brown beard is much easier to make - White bread is unedible if it doesn't rise enough.
Jun 26, 2009. 3:04 PMandyr354 says:
Any tips on making this a whole wheat or graham flour recipe? Or maybe point me to another recipe? Looks good BTW! But I don't eat refined flour anymore unless I have no choice :)
Jun 6, 2009. 11:14 AMDoubleboogey says:
Two questions. Can you use a dough hook in a mixmaster instead of kneading by hand and if the dough is really stickey does in need more flour? Thanks, Eddie
Jun 23, 2009. 2:37 AMtgzuke says:
Be careful to set the mixmaster to a low speed while mixing. Dough can burn out your motor and/or overknead the dough. My kitchen-aid mixer requires only around six minutes to achieve correct firmness on its second-lowest setting. Overkneaded dough will have the look and consistency of chewed bubble gum, and will never recover, no matter how much flour you add, so be sure to check the dough early and often.
Jun 8, 2009. 11:12 AMmerritt55 says:
Salt is not add to a sponge salt slows down the yeast also kills the yeast and makes the dough tough. Third generation baker.
Apr 22, 2009. 11:06 AMmegbrinst says:
I just made the bread and it is great! I coated the top of the loaf with egg white and meted butter before i baked the bread, and it gave the loaf a crisp and golden crust. Thanks for taking the time to put up the instructions!
Apr 21, 2009. 8:03 AMBridgetBBL says:
I made the bread today and it was really good. I make a lot of things from scratch at home, up until this point, I hadn't made bread. It was amazingly easy. Its was also a cool thing for my 4 1/2 yr old join in with. Thank you for the instructions.
Apr 10, 2009. 8:30 PMFrasi1966 says:
I made this bread once already, it came sooo good! I am making it righ now again, one loaf with ham inside. Thank you sharing!
Apr 17, 2009. 8:13 AMVrebelrider says:
Ok when I made this my loafs kind of dropped like chesse cake does when someone slams a door while your cooking it, do I need to let it rise higher they were about the hight of the loaf pans before I put them in oven
Apr 17, 2009. 1:32 PMdougyd says:
brilliant, worked a treat!
Apr 10, 2009. 11:14 PMRhiKemp says:
Wow! I googled 'How to make bread' and you were the first link and I am so glad I went onto this page, I love it and it's made me very excited about making bread (have never done it before, can you tell!) But I was just wondering, I doubt my partner and I would be able to eat 3 loaves before they start to go off so I was wondering, how would it go if we halved (well, thirded) the ingredients, would that work?
Dec 29, 2008. 12:39 PMcantxcape says:
I have never made bread before, am worried about this tempature thing. Now what happens if my water wasn't quite warm enough and the yeast doesn't activate as quickly. It's been 10 minutes and not quite as bubbly as it should be. Can I still go on with the next steps or wait longer? I might not even get a response in time to figure this one out. :) I guess I'll see what happens.
Apr 9, 2009. 7:52 AMabhix1 says:
cantxcape, If your yeast is good, the tempature is not that critical. It just takes longer to rise. you can even put your bread in the fridg to rise. Good luck
Mar 28, 2009. 6:49 AMhuskersrback says:
two questions--can I substitute Wheat Flour in this recipe-- and can I use less salt without impacting the recipe? thanks
Jun 25, 2008. 6:20 PMshell217 says:
Do you use dried yeast or real yeast! I don't want it to taste like yeast. Thanks!
Feb 24, 2009. 9:32 PMbucsrule07 says:
if you mix all ingredients right including the yeast (active Dry) comes in a packet you can find it at your local grocer, well if you mix it right your bread will come out great , which means it will rise awesome, if you mix it wrong it will be flat, and for the taste you cannot taste it if you mix it right. well good luck and have fun!!!
Jan 29, 2009. 4:12 PMkitsuken says:
This uses yeast, but there are plenty of non-yeast recipes around. Personally I'm quite fond of irish soda bread, which has a good, rich flavour to it and, since it doesn't use yeast, would be ideal for your purposes.
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