This weekend has been crazy! We usually plan projects out weeks in advance. However, that wasn’t the case with our latest project. We suddenly found ourselves having to demo our entire bathroom. I should also mention we only have one bathroom. Talk about a wild and crazy two days! I’ll tell you more about the bathroom remodel in another post. Today is all about this amazing bread.
So why on earth would I decide to bake bread today in the middle of all this chaos? For one I need to unwind and baking does that for me. Also, we were out of bread. One of Scott’s favorite things is fresh homemade bread. I knew at the end of the day he would appreciate some fresh bread with the pot of homemade soup I started early this morning. When making this I use two 4×8 bread pans.
INGREDIENTS
- 7 cups Bread flour
- ¼ cup Honey or sugar
- 2 Tbs Oil
- 1 ½ teaspoon of active dry yeast
- 2 teaspoon salt (I prefer sea salt)
- 3 ½ cups warm Water
TOOLS
- Stand Mixer unless you prefer to knead by hand
- Measuring cups
- cooking thermometer
- Bowl
- 2 4×8 bread pans
PROOF YOUR YEAST
Proofing your yeast is often considered optional but I think it’s important. It ensures that your yeast is still good and helps the ingredients mix better.
MIX
I think the easiest way to make bread is with a stand mixer. I’m pretty sure if I had to knead by hand we would seldom eat homemade bread.
LET IT RISE
You will get the best rise if you cover the bread with a tea towel and allow it to rise in a warm, draft-free area. I usually let my bread rise for about an hour. It should rise over the edge of the pan.
BAKE
The bread should be golden brown and you should hear a hollow sound if you tap on the bottom of the loaf.
COOLING
This is probably one of the hardest steps! Allow the bread to cool for at least 30 minutes before cutting into it. This will ensure the bread remains moist.