Simplest Ever Homemade Bread – Under TWO hours Recipe
If you never baked bread before, or anything else from scratch for that matter, YOU CAN make this bread with ease.
This is the simplest baking recipe I have ever come across, and even someone who never baked will be able to bake this delicious homemade bread within TWO hours from the beginning to the end.
No need for a mixer (bowl and spoon suffice), no KNEADING required, no yeast proofing, and before you know it, you will have a perfect loaf of freshly baked bread to enjoy.
You can use all-purpose flour alone, mix it with wheat flour, or even add some other ingredients such as flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, oatmeal flakes, herbs…whatever suits your taste. I made my first loaf plain, with mostly all-purpose flour mixed with a small amount of whole wheat flour.
This recipe makes one loaf of bread (2.5 lbs), baked in a 9″x 5″ loaf pan….the size of your typical Banana Bread.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups (150 grams) Whole Wheat flour
- 3 1/4 cups (350 grams) All-purpose flour
- 3 tsp. (10 grams) Instant Yeast or Rapid Rise (see note below if using Active or Fresh Yeast)
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 Tbs. sugar
- 2 Tbs. oil, or melted butter
- 2 1/4 cup (500+ ml) warm water (or 1 cup milk and 1 1/4 cup water)
- bread crumbs or oatmeal flakes for dusting the pan
- Crisco or oil to grease the pan
Instructions
- In a large bowl place the dry ingredients: flour, salt, sugar, yeast, and combine using a spoon or a whisk, to distribute evenly.
- Add in the warm (room temperature) water, milk and oil.
- Using a spoon, mix all ingredients until fully incorporated and soft sticky dough forms (5 - 10 minutes).
- Cover the bowl with a plastic wrap, or a kitchen towel, and let it rise in a warm place for 30 minutes or until double in bulk. I warm up my oven to 100 degrees F, turn it off and place the covered dough in there to rise.
- Uncover the dough, and using a spoon again, mix the dough from edges toward the middle, to deflate it (few strokes only).
- Grease a 9" x 5" loaf pan with Crisco or oil, flour the bottom and sides with bread crumbs, flour, or oatmeal flakes, so the bread does not stick to the pan after baking.
- Scoop out the soft, sticky dough into the pan.
- Use the back of the spoon, dipping it in water from time to time, to smooth the top of the loaf.
- Cover the pan with plastic wrap or kitchen towel, and let it rise again for 25 minutes, or until the dough reaches the top edge of the baking pan.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
- Uncover the pan, and using a pastry brush, gently baste the top of the loaf with room temperature milk or water, so a nice golden color develops during baking.
- If you wish, you may sprinkle the top of the loaf with your favorite seeds or oatmeal flakes, or leave it plain as I did.
- Place the pan in the oven, onto the middle rack, and bake for 15 minutes, to establish a nice golden crust.
- Turn down the oven temperature to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C), and bake another 40 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and rub cold butter over the top crust of the hot bread, to soften during cooling time. Let the pan rest on a cooling rack for 5 minutes, then run a knife around the edges of the inside of the pan, to loosen up any sticking spots of the bread against the pan. Remove it onto a cooling rack to cool completely before slicing it (about 30 - 45 minutes).
- Enjoy it with butter, cream cheese, jam, honey, or whatever makes you happy.
Notes
Please note you DO NOT need to PROOF the yeast if you are using INSTANT yeast. If you are using FRESH or ACTIVE yeast, you MUST proof it before adding it to the dry ingredients. To proof yeast, you mix the yeast into 1 cup of warm water and 1 tsp. of sugar (already accounted for in the recipe....not extra), and wait until it get foamy (about 10 minutes). If using FRESH Yeast, you will need 20 grams.
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