How To Make Bread
I feel strongly about people needing to learn some basic skills, like how to make bread. This is the bare minimum we need to teach others to learn. Here’s the deal, if you can make bread you can save money on groceries. Yes, I understand people have gluten issues. I feel really bad for them.
If I didn’t make bread for Mark and me our grocery bill would be so much higher. I’m so grateful my mother taught me how to make bread. I took it one step further and taught myself to make cinnamon rolls and so much more.
If you can make bread you can survive almost any situation. Last week I talked about filling your pantry slowly. The week before that I talked about making bread. Today I am sharing some of my recipes for bread, rolls, cinnamon rolls, and more.
Remember, we have to have fresh ingredients in order to be successful in making bread. Please remember, bread making takes practice and a good recipe, combined with fresh ingredients. You can make bread and the best rolls in the world if you follow these tips, I promise.
This means the yeast must be good yeast. I only use this one: Saf Instant Yeast, 1 Pound Pouch Just so you know, I keep the amount I use weekly in my refrigerator in an airtight container. The rest goes in my freezer. I store at least five packages at a time unopened in my freezer.
Call me nervous Nellie, but I can’t be without yeast to make my bread and various rolls. When I make my whole wheat bread I only use hard white wheat and I purchase it from Lehi Roller Mills.
I pick it up when I am in Lehi, Utah, or I buy it at Costco when they have it. I use this wheat gluten: All-Natural Vital Wheat Gluten and this dough enhancer: NutriMill Dough Enhancer 16oz Bag.
When I make my whole wheat bread I always use wheat gluten and dough enhancer. If I don’t the bread will be too heavy and dense for my taste. I like a light and fluffy whole wheat loaf of bread. I use the same dough recipe for whole wheat rolls.
When I make my white bread, cinnamon rolls, dinner rolls, French bread, hamburger rolls, etc. I use bread flour only. I buy it in bulk from Costco in 25-50 pound bags, and only buy what I will use in 9-12 months.
The flour will go rancid after that and my bread will not rise as it should. I know I can hear some of you say, “I have had flour for years and I still use it.” But I make bread and the flour will go rancid, trust me I make bread. I really want you to have a great experience when learning to make bread.
The bread will not rise if the ingredients are not fresh. One thing about my recipes, you don’t need to use dough enhancer. I use it because it makes my bread and rolls really soft and fluffy.
These are the one pound pans I use for my bread making: Fat Daddio’s Anodized Aluminum Bread Pan, 7.75 Inch x 3.75 Inch x 2.75 Inch
Make Bread, It’s Easy
Once you learn to make bread you will realize you can make bread, it’s easy, I promise!
No-Fail Whole Wheat Bread Recipe:
- 6 Cups Warm Water
- 2/3 Cup Olive Oil
- 1 Cup Honey
- 2 Tablespoons Dough Enhancer
- 2 Tablespoons Wheat Gluten
- 2 Tablespoons Salt
- 2 Tablespoons Saf Instant Yeast
- 2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
- 14 Cups Whole Wheat Flour
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Start adding the ingredients in the order shown above with one exception into your mixing bowl…start with 7 cups of flour and slowly add more flour until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. I use a Bosch Mixer. I grew up making bread without a mixer, it can be done by hand. I grew up letting my bread rise twice so I still do that. Old habits are hard to break! I mix it for 10 minutes in my Bosch. Cover with greased plastic wrap until it doubles in size. Punch down and form dough into eight one-pound loaves or less if your bread pans are larger. I let the dough rise one more time with greased plastic wrap. Bake the bread at 350 degrees for 27-30 minutes. If your pans are larger you will bake your bread longer. You will love making whole wheat bread, I promise!!
French Bread In One Hour
- 2-1/2 cups hot water
- 4 teaspoons SAF instant yeast
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon Real Salt
- 6 cups white BREAD flour or freshly ground hard white wheat
- egg whites (lather loaves with a brush after first bread rise/cut 4-5 shallow cuts on top of loaves)
- sesame seeds or poppy seeds (optional sprinkle on egg whites before the 2nd bread rise time)
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Mix everything in the order shown except the egg whites and optional seeds. Knead for about five minutes in a bread mixer. Let rest for 15 minutes covered. Shape the dough into 2 loaves and place on a greased cookie sheet. Lather the tops of the loaves with the egg whites, cut four to five shallow cuts on top of the loaves. Next, sprinkle seeds if desired. Let rise one more time for about 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and bake for 25 minutes.
No Fail-Cinnamon Rolls
- 4 Teaspoons SAF Instant Yeast
- 1/2 Cup Water
- 2 Cups Warm Milk
- 1/4 Cup Olive Oil
- 1 Cup Sugar
- 1-1/2 Teaspoons Sea Salt
- 4 Teaspoons Dough Enhancer
- 2 Eggs
- 6-7 Cups White Bread Flour
- 1/2 Cup Softened Butter (1/4 cup for each rectangle of dough)
- Cinnamon- Cover the dough with the desired amount of cinnamon. I use a lot!
- 1 Cup Brown sugar (1/2 cup for each rectangle of dough)
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First, in a large mixing bowl, whisk together the yeast, warm milk, olive oil, sugar, sea salt, dough enhancer, butter, and eggs.
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Next, add half the flour. Then, keep adding the flour gradually until the dough pulls away from the sides of the mixing bowl.
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Cover your mixing bowl with plastic wrap and place the bowl with the dough on the countertop. You want to let it rise for about an hour.
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After an hour, remove the dough from the bowl. Punch the dough down and roll it into two 12” by 18” rectangles.
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Lather each 12" by 18" rectangle dough with softened butter. Each rectangle will need about 1/4 cup. Add your desired amount of cinnamon on top of the dough. Then, sprinkle 1/4 cup brown sugar on EACH 12" by 18" rectangle of dough.
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Roll the dough tightly into a tube. Then, cut it into 1-1/2-inch rolls. Tuck the "tail" under the cinnamon roll. Place the rolls on a greased cookie sheet and cover them with greased plastic wrap and let them rise one more time for about an hour or until the dough doubles in size.
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Finally, preheat your oven to (350°F) = (176°C). Then, bake your cinnamon rolls on a greased cookie sheet for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown.
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Frost your cinnamon rolls while they are still warm so that the frosting melts on top of them.
Don’t overheat the milk. Warm your milk to about (110°F) = (43°C)
Anything over that will kill the yeast, and anything lower can increase the time it takes the dough to rise. Dip your finger in the milk, it should be warm, but not hot.
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- Use soft butter. The secret to super tender cinnamon rolls is the butter! You want very soft butter, but not melted butter. Take it out and set it on the counter a few hours before you start the recipe.
- Do Not scoop the flour with the measuring cup! Flour packs tightly so if you use your measuring cup to scoop it, you will use too much flour and your rolls will be dry. Instead, use a spoon to scoop the flour into the measuring cup, and then scrape the excess off with a butter knife.
- Use room temperature butter for the rectangles. When lathering with butter before adding the cinnamon, it’s best to use room temperature butter rather than melted butter. This prevents the cinnamon and brown sugar from seeping out of the sides. Use the back of a spoon to gently spread the soft butter on the dough.
- Don’t overbake the rolls. Your cinnamon rolls should be a golden brown. If you overbake them, they will not be as soft and moist as you would like them. Check them after 15-minutes of baking.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 1- eight-ounce cream cheese softened
- 3 to 3-1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1-2 teaspoons vanilla
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Cream the butter with the cream cheese and slowly add the powdered sugar to the thickness you desire. Add the vanilla until blended.
White Bread For Two-No-Fail
- 1 cup warm milk
- 2 tsp. SAF instant yeast
- 2 tsp. dough enhancer (optional)
- 1 egg
- 1/8 cup oil-I use olive oil
- 3/4 tsp. sea salt
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup warm water
- 3 to 3-1/2 cups white bread flour
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I start with a Bosch bread mixer, although you could make this in a bowl. I put the yeast, warm water, salt, oil, and sugar in the bowl. I then add the eggs and lightly mix it in the Bosch so the egg does not “cook”. Then I add the warm milk and flour slowly. I continue to add flour until the bread dough pulls away from the sides of the Bosch bowl. I knead for about 7-8 minutes. I place the dough in a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. I let the dough rise until double the original size. I punch down the dough and make into loaves and place these in greased pans (this recipe makes two-1 pound loaves). I let it rise once again (using the same plastic wrap) until it doubles in size and then I bake them at 350 degrees for 27-30 minutes. I lightly butter the tops of each loaf after baking and removed from the pans.
HOW TO MAKE SCONES
I start with a very large skillet and heat the oil one to two inches deep until I can spritz a few drops of water into the oil ever so carefully, then I know it’s hot enough. You will start with one ball of dough about the size of a tennis ball, maybe a little smaller, but bigger than a golf ball. Then mash the dough with the palm of your hand on a greased countertop and use a rolling pin to roll the dough from the center out. You keep rolling from the center out until they are very thin.
Then place them in the hot oil really carefully because the oil will splatter. Here’s the deal, it’s a big mess, but I’m talking about memories right now. Adults and kids always love hot scones. You fry them until they are golden brown, and turn them over to cook the other side until that side is golden brown too.
Whole Wheat Bread For Two-No-Fail
- 1 1/2 cups warm water
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 cup or so of honey
- 1/2 tablespoon salt
- 1/2 tablespoon SAF instant yeast
- 1/2 tablespoon dough enhancer
- 1/2 tablespoon wheat gluten
- 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 3-1/2 to 4 cups whole wheat flour
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Start adding the ingredients in the order shown above with one exception into your mixing bowl…start with 2 cups of flour and slowly add more flour until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. I use a Bosch Mixer. I grew up making bread without a mixer. It can be done by hand. I grew up letting my bread rise twice so I still do that. Old habits are hard to break!
I mix it for 10 minutes in my Bosch. Cover with greased plastic wrap until it doubles in size. Punch down and form dough into two one-pound loaves. I let the dough rise one more time with greased plastic wrap. Bake the bread at 350 degrees for 27-30 minutes. If your pans are larger you will bake your bread longer. You will love making whole wheat bread, I promise!!
Dinner Rolls
- 4 Teaspoons SAF Instant Yeast
- 1/2 cup Water
- 2 Cups Warm Milk
- 1/4 Cup Olive Oil
- 1 Cup Sugar
- 1-1/2 Teaspoons Sea Salt
- 4 Teaspoons Dough Enhancer
- 2 Eggs
- 6-7 Cups White bread flour Add 1/2 of the flour and then add more until the dough pulls away from the sides of the mixing bowl
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Place all of the ingredients in order into your mixing bowl. Be careful with the eggs not to add the warm milk too slowly or you will have scrambled eggs. Add half of the flour and keep adding the rest of the flour until the bread dough pulls away from the sides of the mixing bowl. Cover with greased plastic wrap and let rise the first time about an hour. Punch the dough down and mold into small balls about 1-1/2 inches to 2 inches in diameter. Cover with greased plastic wrap and let rise one more time about an hour or until double the size. Remove the plastic wrap and bake at 350 degrees for about 15-20 minutes on a greased cookie sheet. Do not over bake. They should be golden brown. I spread a little butter on the tops after baking so the rolls are soft on top. If you like a crispier top you can skip this step.
Easy To Make Breadsticks
- 4 Teaspoons SAF Instant Yeast
- 1/2 Cup Water
- 2 Cups Warm Milk
- 1/4 Cup Olive Oil
- 1 Cup Sugar
- 1-1/2 Teaspoons Sea Salt
- 4 Teaspoons Dough Enhancer
- 2 Eggs slightly beaten
- 6-7 Cups White Bread Flour
- 1/4 to 1/2 Cup Melted Butter
- Garlic Salt Parmesan Cheese
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Place all of the ingredients in order into a Bosch Bread Mixer or a very large bowl to mix and knead by hand. The recipe calls for 6-7 cups of white bread flour…you add flour until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Knead by hand or machine for 8-10 minutes. Cover with greased plastic wrap and let rise. Roll the dough out after the first rise and cut with knife or pizza cutter into desired shapes. Dip in melted butter and place onto greased cookie sheet. Sprinkle with garlic salt, parmesan cheese or any desired seasoning of choice. Cover with greased plastic wrap and let rise once more. Remove plastic wrap and bake at 350 degrees for 12-20 minutes depending on the size of breadsticks you make. Do not over bake.
Hamburger Buns
- 2-3/4 cups flour – I use bread flour
- 2/3 cups parmesan cheese-grated
- 1 teaspoon of sea salt
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 4 tablespoons butter softened
- 1 egg
- 2/3 cups water
- 2-1/2 tablespoons SAF instant yeast
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Add all of the ingredients in order shown above into your Bosch or Kitchen Aid Mixer with a dough hook. This is by far the easiest recipe to make hamburger or hot dog buns (depending on how you shape them). I add more flour until mixture pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Cover and let rise with a greased plastic wrap for about one hour. Remove plastic and evenly divide the dough into 6 balls. Roll each ball and tuck the edges under and place on greased cookie sheet. Flatten each ball to about 3-1/2 to 4 inches wide. Cover the rolls with plastic wrap and let rise until double. Remove plastic wrap and bake @ 350 degrees for about 20-25 minutes until golden brown.
If you are looking for bread bags these are the ones I buy: Blue Donuts Clear Bread Bag – 100-count/ Includes 100 Cable Ties
Final Word
Please learn how to make bread, it’s really easy to do if you have fresh ingredients. I will personally walk you through it every step of the way. Let’s teach the world to be self-reliant. May God bless this world.
Linda ~ Thank you for this post. I am going to send it along to my daughter who for some odd reason, has a problem making bread. I have tried to teach her and it hasn’t worked!
I taught her how to proof her yeast and advised her to use dough enhancer and vital wheat gluten. Still, not as much luck as she would like. She tried using a bread machine and was unsuccessful with that as well. Then she tried the “rustic” bread that you bake without a bread pan and was moderately successful with that. I don’t know, she is a terrific baker with other recipes but bread not so much!
During our winter storm in the last week, people were running out of bread before any of us could get out of our parking lot! I made the remark to one of my neighbors that I had made bread. Well, our apartments are pretty small and she asked me where in the world I stored my bread machine. I told her that I don’t have a bread machine nor a large stand mixer. She asked me then how in the world I made bread. I told her that I made bread the way my mother and her mother and her mother before made bread. Using my arm muscles!!
Sometimes we become dependent on machines to do our work – I love my dishwasher for example, but I do know or remember how to wash dishes by hand!! Not only do we need to know how to do things the “old fashioned” way but we need to practice them!
I remember my mother baking once a week for our family: bread, rolls (regular and cinnamon), pies, etc. She wasn’t so much on cookies or cakes, though. Anyway, on baking day, she made a treat for us that she called “dough gobs” or perhaps it was “dough gods”. I remember the first! What she did was pinch off gobs of the risen dough and deep fried them. We then bit off a tiny bit just to make a hole and filled them with jam or honey. Sometimes we rolled them in cinnamon/sugar. They were a wonderful treat. She didn’t do this every time she baked bread so they were a wonderful treat and I remember them well.
Another time, I think I was a teenager: Mom had gotten a recipe for “Farmer’s Market Bread” (I think I have the recipe somewhere). She thought we HAD to make this bread. What she didn’t realize was that it made 10 loaves!! Well, we made it and she did NOT like the bread and wanted to throw it out! Dad tried it and he loved it. It was a dark, heavy loaf. Anyway, we (Dad and I) ate that bread for weeks – kept it in the freezer and it kept really well.
Keep the great posts coming. I love reading them all even though I don’t always comment!
Hi Leanne, oh my gosh, I love your comment! Hopefully, this post will help your daughter make bread!! Hugs! Linda
WOW, what a wonderful treasure post. Thanks Linda, I can’t wait to start baking.
BLessings,
Gayle
Hi Gayle, you are so cute!! I hope you have fun making bread!! Linda
do you have a rye bread recipe or pumpernickle? I want to be able to have these available because I was raised in Germany to a military family and that was what we ate, mostly.
Hi Elaine, oh my gosh, I love rye bread. Let me see if I can come up with a good recipe. I would have to order some rye flour maybe from King Arthur’s. Great idea! Linda
Oh, great!!! I can’t wait….
What if the big disaster happens, and there is no yeast, no dough enhancer, no gluten?
That’s how our ancestors really made bread, with something they didn’t buy at the grocery store. I want to know how to make THAT kind of bread. Have I missed a post on that?
Hi Angela, we would make natural yeast, which is with ground wheat and water. We can also make bread without yeast and it will be similar to pita bread or flatbread. It’s delicious. I have helped Melissa Richardson teach her classes on Natural Yeast. I’m glad you mentioned this because people do need to know how to make bread without yeast. I highly recommend getting her book. Here is one of the posts I wrote about cooking with natural yeast. I need to write some new ones. https://www.foodstoragemoms.com/natural-yeast/ Great comment! Linda
In the white bread for two ingredients you list one egg but in the description you mention so the “eggs” do not cook… Is this just a typo or should there be more than one egg in the ingredient list?
Hi Debbie, I just changed it. I have the same instructions for two loaves and 8 loaves. Thanks for the heads up, I just changed it. Thanks so much for letting me know. Linda
Look forward to trying your recipes! Do u have one for Italian Bread? My husband loves that. Also do u ever use a bread machine?
Hi Arlene, I do not have a recipe for Italian bread, that’s a great idea. I use a Bosch bread Mixer. I’m so thankful you want to try my recipes! Linda