basic bread

who doesn't love freshly baked bread?

matt and i spent a year living in far northern ontario, where "fresh" bread from the store was at least a week old. as a consequence, i made all of the bread we ate the whole time we lived there. this recipe was my go-to. it is pretty failsafe as far as making bread goes, and you can add anything to it and it will turn out well.

matt's favourite addition is huge chunks of cheese, so that it makes cheesy pockets in the bread. i like adding fresh garlic and herbs.

this time, i made it with just white flour. i was making it to accompany soup, and i thought it would go better. normally i use at least a cup or two of whole wheat or whole spelt flour.

i did everything by hand (instead of with my kitchen aid) to prove to you that it's EASY. i did my best to take pictures while i was kneading, but it's hard to take pictures and knead at the same time...

ingredients:

1 t sugar
1/2 c hot water
2 1/4 t quick rise yeast

1 1/2 c hot water
2 T melted butter or margarine
2 T sugar
1 1/2 t salt
anything additional you like - cheese, herbs, etc.

at least 4 c flour (bread flour is ideal, but not necessary. i usually start with 1 c whole wheat/whole spelt and 1 c white, and add white as needed)

to make:

mix sugar, yeast and 1/2 c hot water. let it sit about 5 minutes until it's foamy.

in the mean time, in a second bowl, mix 1 1/2 c hot water, melted butter, sugar and salt.

once the yeast mixture is foamy, combine the two wet mixtures.

add to 2 c flour. mix well with a large spoon.

add more flour as needed, 1/2 c at a time, stirring.

once the dough is dry enough to be handled, dump it out onto a floured countertop, and knead it for a few minutes. you want it to be elasticy but soft.

(again sorry for the shoddy kneading pictures. there are lots of good "how to knead" youtube videos if you're worried)

coat the dough with olive oil and stick it in a bowl to rise for 1 hour or until it doubles in size (how long it takes depends on temperature/humidity/etc).

after the dough has risen, pour the dough back onto the floured countertop, and punch it down. knead again for about 1 minute, then separate the dough into 2 and put them in greased loaf pans (you can also use a flat greased cookie sheet for a less square loaf, or make buns or anything you want!)

(i did one normal sized loaf in a loaf pan, and two smaller loaves on a flat cookie sheet - i baked them separately.)

the two smaller loaves - slices done gently with a sharp knife!

let the bread rise for another hour or so. it should be doubled in size.

bake at 400 on the bottom rack 25-30 minutes, less for buns.

since i baked the big loaf and the two smaller ones separately, they took less time. the big loaf took about 22 minutes, and the smaller two about 18. you can tell when it's done because it looks like bread!

try not to eat it all at once. it's hard!