The Bread & Butter...ok, just bread.
- Food Your Soul
- Apr 6, 2018
- 2 min read
I wish my house could always smell like fresh-baked bread. The warm, toasty aroma lends a feeling of all-is-right-with-the-world.
Making bread is the first thing I really felt like I was good at—cooking-wise. With the first loaf, I was hooked. I loved transforming such mundane ingredients into a crusty, spongy masterpiece. Bread is such a basic, fundamental food. When I imagine the manna from heaven, I think of bread.
I was shocked at how few ingredients I really needed for my first French Bread: flour, water, yeast, salt. “Holy *!#*! That’s it?!” Yeah, I know. Considering the massive list of ingredients in store-bought bread, you’d think making bread would be a massive undertaking. It’s not. And what is all that other stuff they put in there? Do I really need to be eating all that? Bleh. Kinda grosses me out.
I have to tell you, nothing makes my husband and kids more happy than seeing a fresh-baked loaf of bread cooling on the counter. They can hardly wait for it to finish cooling before ripping into it. (My husband has actually burned himself because he just couldn’t wait!)
After making all kinds of bread for years now, here are my 5 tips for great bread:
Use bread machine yeast. It always rises, and it isn’t so picky about water temperature as traditional yeast.
Follow a recipe, BUT be prepared to add more flour or water to get it to the right consistency. And you DO NOT need a mixer, no matter what the recipe says. My mixer is my right arm.
Use salt. Even a little (if you’re limiting sodium) will make it so much tastier.
Knead it IN the bowl. It’s a little easier to get it out and knead on the counter, but this will minimize all that extra work scraping it off the counter later.
Use whole wheat flour. It’s better for you, and because it is heartier, it’s a lot less messy. White flour gets everywhere, it’s practically airborne the second you open the bag. My kids won’t eat store-bought whole wheat bread, but when I make it at home, they scarf it down. You could also ease into it by doing half and half. Try it!
Keeping these tips in mind, find a recipe and get started! You can do it! You are a rock star.
(Look out for my challah recipe…it is to die for.)
can do it! You are a rock star.
(Look out for my challah recipe…it is to die for.)