This is such a great easy recipe and a good one for folks who are just now getting started making their own bread. With a minimum of ingredients, this bread turns out to be almost as good as the artisan type breads that have become so popular.
Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level off. In large bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt and yeast; mix well. Add warm water and oil; mix well. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface. Knead dough 10 minutes or until smooth.
Place dough in lightly greased bowl; cover with plastic wrap and cloth towel. Let rise in warm place (80 to 85 degrees F) for 30 to 40 minutes.
Sprinkle ungreased cookie sheet with cornmeal. Punch down dough. Shape dough into baguette-shaped loaf about 12 inches long. Place dough on cornmeal-coated cookie sheet.
Cover; let rise in warm place for 35 to 40 minutes or until doubled in size.
Heat oven to 375 degrees F. With sharp knife, make 1 deep lengthwise slash in top of loaf. Brush loaf with egg white. Bake at 375 degrees F for 25 to 35 minutes or until loaf sounds hollow when lightly tapped.
| Servings: | 8-10 |
| Time: | 20 Minutes Preparation Time 25-35 Minutes Cooking Time |
Source: This is a Pillsbury Classic Recipe and was taken from the back of a 5# bag of flour.
By Julia
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
I'm not a good baker, so I keep trying different bread recipes. The bread turns out not even close to the bread I had when I was a kid. Can't I just make bread with sugar, yeast, oil, and water?
My son always eats up the bread I make, but I think it sucks! I want the plain bread that my Grandma used to make, with few ingredients and it turns out heavenly. Thanks.You are right bread recipes are simple and easy to make and should be as good as the bread that grandma made. I have had issue in the past with the yeast and the bread not rising correctly. Homemade bread takes a lot of work and kneading the dough before it is set aside to rise the first time. That is the real key to making a good loaf of homemade bread. I don't think it is the recipe you are using, it may be more you are killing the yeast or not activating it correctly. You need the right temperature of water to do this and if it is too hot or too cold it will not work at all.
I want to start making my own bread. Does anyone want to share their recipe?
By Sabrina Barr from Council, NC
I've got a better idea: go to the Fleischman's site. They have enough recipes to keep you going for a long time starting with plain good old fashioned plain bread with excellent instructions.
There are many of my family & friends who bake their own bread. I have found that each person has to find their own unique recipe. We all have tried each other's recipes and have adapted what works best for us. I will post my recipe in another feedback.
My Recipe for White bread
2 cups warm water
2/3 cups sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp. active dry yeast
Dissolve the sugar in a bowl of the water, then stir in the yeast. Allow to proof until yeast resembles a creamy foam.
1 1/2 tsp.s salt
1/4 cup oil
6 cups flour
Mix in 1 cup flour, salt & oil. Add the rest of the flour 1 cup at a time. Either knead or mix until smooth dough has formed. Place in a well oiled bowl & turn to coat dough. Cover & let rise until double.
Punch down dough. Knead for a few minutes, divide into 2 to 4 loaves (depending on size of pans). Place in well oiled pans. Allow to rise 30 minutes our until dough is just above the the pans.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 C) for 30 minutes.
For best results let the bread sit for 3-4 hours to "cure" before cutting or putting into bags.
Hello, and good for you!
Want to try making bread from a large quantity of dough which doesn't need kneading and can be kept in the frig for up to 2 weeks?
Hope this gives you a different approach that might help you out and be fun, too.
Another plus: you can use all purpose unbleached flour instead of bread flour which generally is cheaper.
You can get a lot of great bread recipes at the King Arthur Flour website (not to mention flour and other baking supplies!). Hope this helps.
ItalianSwede, I have been wanting to try that bread but just have not gotten around to it. I want that cookbook so bad. Tomorrow is my birthday, maybe someone will get it for me. I hope so......anybody? LOL, hey say it is the best and easiest bread you will ever make. I too have made bread many different ways. So far other than the artisan bread, I think the best way is to mix it in a bread maker on dough setting, take it out, shape it and let it raise again before baking in oven.
I forgot, ItalianSwede, I have another question for you. Looks like you might be of Italian descent so I wondered if you had any recipes that contain garlic in the dough, not the garlic on top. I would really like to know how to do this. Do you make a paste and incorporate it into the dough? I would appreciate a recipe if you have one.
I don't buy bread products at all since it's so much cheaper to make it at home. Here's my whole wheat bread recipe:
In a large bowl, combine and let cool to lukewarm:
2 T. salt
1/2 C. oil (butter gives a richer taste and texture, margarine is fine... oil is cheaper and works fine. I'd rather use oil over margarine in that case. Use what suits you.)
1/2 C. quick cooking oats
1/2 C. wheat bran
1/2 C. wheat germ
1/2 C. whole grain cereal (sunny boy or red river brands up here in Canada)
2 C. boiling water
In a separate small bowl combine:
1 C. warm water (108-112 degrees...baby bottle temp. )
1/2 tsp. sugar (stir until dissolved)
1 T. yeast
Let rise until doubled (5-10 minutes), stir and add to first mixture. Add two more cups of water to mixture (you need 5 cups total liquid), make sure mixture isn't too hot or too cold. Your yeast needs to survive to rise the bread.
Add whole wheat flour a few cups at a time to make a soft dough. Knead, gradually adding flour until no longer sticky.
Let rise in a large, lightly oiled bowl, covered with a moist tea-towel until doubled. (about 1 1/2 hours). On cold days I let the oven warm to about 100 or 110 degrees, turn it off and turn the oven light on and let the bread rise in there. Punch down, let rise again (about 1 hour). Punch down, divide in to four equal parts, shape in to four loaves, and place in 4 greased bread pans. Let rise for about an hour, bake in 375 oven for 40 minutes. Remove from pans on to cooling racks to cool.
You can skip the second rising if you're cramped for time. It still turns out fine, but the taste isn't quite as rich. Most bread recipes call for at least 2 T. sugar. I don't put sugar in except for 1/2 tsp to feed the yeast. I started omitting the sugar a few months ago and none of us noticed. Less is more! But if you're used to store-bought bread, you might want to start off by putting a bit of sugar in the home-made bread because store bought has so much sugar in it that going from all to nothing might be a bit of a taste shock. =) If you want a healthier sugar option, honey works well, too. You put the sugar in the first mixture along with the salt and fat.
Add 1/4 -1/2 C. molasses for a variation (also replaces sugar well.)
Wheat germ, wheat bran, whole grain cereal and oats are all optional. Add or omit any or all as you like it. I just like the added health benefit.
For a basic whole wheat bread with no "crunch", omit all and just add whole wheat flour.
For white bread, replace white flour for whole wheat (and don't add the cereals etc)
Hope this helps and doesn't look to complicated. Once you start doing it often enough, it become second nature and it's an easy process. Have fun!! Your family will love it!~Karen
Three hints: 1) When baking whole wheat bread, use 1 T gluten flour (avail at any grocery in little "health food" style bags) per 1 cup WW flour. That will help in the rising process. 2) for no-knead 1 rise WW bread, google "Doris Grant" and look for the grant loaf recipe. If you search you will find a recipe that is in US units, as Mrs. Grant was from England and most recipes are metric. 3) for best rise, heat the loaf pan(s) to warm (NOT HOT) so the yeast will continue to do its job.
Listen to Italian Swede. I bought the book and it is absolutely great. Now they have a new one out that is entitled "Healthy Homemade Bread in 5 minutes a Day. I want that one too! It contains recipes that have more whole wheat and rye flour in them.
Nobody believes how easy it is till they try it. I got two of my friends to buy the book and they both have had success with it. You can't go wrong......no kneading! They look like the olde world breads too, so appealing! Try it, you will love it! I found the cheapest place to buy the book is at Overstock.com.
I am looking for an easy bread recipe.
Stpat
Yield 8 servings
Ingredients
1/2 cup white sugar 4 cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 3/4 teaspoon salt 3 cups raisins 1 tablespoon caraway seeds 2 eggs, lightly beaten 1 1/4 cups buttermilk 1 cup sour cream
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9 inch round cast iron skillet or a 9 inch round baking or cake pan.
In a mixing bowl, combine flour (reserving 1 tablespoon), sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, raisins and caraway seeds. In a small bowl, blend eggs, buttermilk and sour cream. Stir the liquid mixture into flour mixture just until flour is moistened. Knead dough in bowl about 10 to 12 strokes. Dough will be sticky. Place the dough in the prepared skillet or pan and pat down. Cut a 4x3/4 inch deep slit in the top of the bread. Dust with reserved flour
Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) oven for 65 to 75 minutes. Let cool and turn bread onto a wire rack.
good luck.
If you want to email me I will share my bread recipes with you. winbergma AT hotmail.com I am not home for another few days but do make a lot of bread and would be glad to share with anyone. I have a wonder full french bread recipe just recently tried that I will post soon as I get home.
In the recipe book that came with my 5 qt. mixer there's a recipe for whole wheat bread. The instructions say to add oil, but there is no oil in the list of ingredients, so I don't know how much. I love my mixer. I love the hands-free mixing.
Suzy
Looking for a easy one loaf bread recipe for white and whole wheat flour.
By DJ
