Welcome to Dough by Danielle! I am so happy you are here.
I LOVE bread! I hope that is why you are here too. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t love a fresh slice of bread straight from the oven. There is something so warming and delicious about it. I feel like a warm loaf of bread is nostalgic to me. In High School I was a runner. I ran both Cross Country and Track. Although I was just an average runner, I was on a very elite team. We won the Texas state championship all four years I was there. I obviously had very little to do with this, but I enjoyed running and cheering on my teammates. Before every meet, I remember my mom would make her homemade bread as a “carbo load” to help prepare me for my race. This was her way to show her support for me (as well as cheering me on the following day). It is something that I have cherished throughout my life.
Homemade bread can be so much more than just bread! It’s a labor of love and can be a way to lift and cheer each other on. Life is hard! Homemade bread doesn’t have to be.
Today I have an easy, no fail bread recipe for you. It is a very versatile recipe that can be used as a base to create other types of bread creations, but today I am going to use it to help teach how simple bread making can be. Homemade bread does take time; however, it requires very little hands on. It is mostly just sitting time to help it reach perfection. Don’t be scared by the time. Time is relevant but I promise you won’t be in the kitchen for too long.
It’s dough time! 🙂
I always like to start by proofing the yeast. This is a simple process of mixing the warm water, yeast and sugar and letting it sit for about 10 minutes to make sure the yeast is active. You don’t want to go through the whole process of making bread if your yeast is bad and not going to help the dough rise.
Start by placing 2 1/2 cups of warm water, 1 1/2 Tablespoons of yeast and 1/4 cup of sugar in a mixing bowl and let it sit for 10 minutes. After about 10 minutes it should look like this:
The yeast is growing! If after 10 minutes your yeast hasn’t bubbled and grown then something is wrong with the yeast- the yeast could be bad or the water temperature was off. Either way you will need to start over because the dough will not rise if you continue and will leave you with a very small and hard loaf of bread.
After you have proofed the yeast, add 1/4 cup of oil, 2 teaspoons of salt and 3 cups of flour. Mix and then add 1/2 cup of flour at a time (fully incorporating) until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. I added about 6 1/2 cups of flour total. Knead in the mixer for approximately 5-10 minutes until the dough is somewhat tacky and smooth to the touch. Some ways to tell if your dough has been kneaded long enough and is ready to rise are:
1) If you poke your finger into the dough and the indention fills back in quickly.
2) If you hold the ball of dough in your hands for a few seconds and it holds it’s ball shape instead of seeping down in between your fingers. The dough should be sticky but not so sticky it is sticking all over you!
Your dough is now ready to rise. Form your dough into a ball shape and place it in a large greased (spray with cooking spray) bowl and cover with a clean dish towel. Let it rise until it has doubled in size (approximately 1 hour).
Once it has risen, give the dough one good punch with your fist. Remove the dough onto a non stick silicone mat (or your counter that has been sprayed with cooking spray) and divide dough in half using a bench scraper or knife. Place half the dough back into the bowl and roll the other half into a long rectangle about the width of the bread pan.
Tightly roll the dough so it stays about the width of the bread pan you will use to bake the dough.
Pinch the dough together at the seam and slightly pinch and fold in the two ends of the loaf towards the seam.
Place the dough seam down into a sprayed bread pan. Repeat the previous steps with the other half of the dough and cover the pans with clean dish towel.
Let rise about 30-45 minutes until the dough fills the pan. While it is rising, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 190 degrees. Remove from pan and let cool on a cooling rack. Slice and enjoy!
No Fail White Bread
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cup warm water
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons yeast
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup oil
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 6 1/2 – 7 1/2 cups flour
Instructions
- Mix together the water, yeast and sugar in a mixing bowl. Let stand 10 minutes or until it grows and appears foamy.
- Add the oil, salt and 3 cups of flour to the mixing bowl and mix until fully incorporated. Add flour 1/2 cup at a time until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
- Knead for 5 – 10 minutes in a stand mixer or by hand.
- Spray a large bowl with cooking spray. Remove the dough from the mixing bowl and form it into a ball shape. Place the dough into the prepared bowl.
- Cover with a clean dish towel and let it rise until it has doubled in size (approximately 1 hour). Punch down the dough and divide it in half.
- Roll out each half of the dough approximately the width of a bread pan. Tightly roll the dough width wise so once rolled it is still the width of the pan. Pinch the dough together at the rolled seam and slightly fold and pinch in the two dough ends towards the seam.
- Spray 2 bread pans with cooking spray. Place the dough into the prepared pans seam down.
- Cover and let the dough rise 30-45 minutes or until the dough fills the pan.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until the internal temperature of the bread is 190 degrees. Remove loaf from the pan and cool on a cooling rack. Slice and enjoy!
