Have you tried homemade bread recipes before that just didn’t turn out how you were hoping?

The homemade bread recipes I had tried previously almost always turned out to be too time intensive or too intimidating.

But then, we found and settled on this recipe, and I couldn’t be happier!

It’s quick, simple, delicious, and near fail-proof!

I imagine once you try it, it will quickly become a staple among your family like it has with ours.

The three loaves of bread made with this recipe usually go pretty quickly in our home, so we make at least one batch a week!

I usually try to plan dinner for the night that we’re making bread to be something that the first fresh loaf can be enjoyed with that same evening.

*This post contains affiliate links to products I know &/or love.

Tips and Tricks:

I’ll share the printable recipe down below, but first here are some of my tips and tricks!

Consider Grinding your Own Flour | I’ll guarantee it’s probably not a difficult as what flashed through your mind reading that suggestion!

About 12 years ago I did a bunch of research on grinders and chose the NutriMill Grain Mill and I still love and recommend it!

You literally just add your grains to the top, turn the mill on, and leave it for 10-15 minutes while it works! Then you’re left with beautiful, high quality freshly milled flour ready to jump right in to your recipe.

My favorite wheat grain is from our local area organic co-op, Azure Standard. It’s called their white winter wheat or white wheat berries.

I like to order it in 50lb bags, and the price works out to between $0.50-$1.00 per pound!

And the taste is so rich with a slight nutiness. Yum. I also have heard that freshly milled flour retains more amino acids, vitamins and minerals which are sometimes lacking from commercially prepared bread.

I’ve also noticed that my friends and family members who are more gluten sensitive seem to be able to tolerate this bread better than others.

Save Your Butter Stick Wrappers | Yup, those waxy, butter covered sheets are good for something – greasing/oiling bread and cake pans!

We simply stick ours back in the fridge when we finish a stick of butter, then use it when we have a baking pan that needs to be greased!

Get the family involved | The ease of this recipe is one of my favorite parts, and it’s truly so simple that you could pass this off as a weekly task for one of your children. I’d say probably age 9 or older!

Even younger children can certainly help with supervision!

Use Stoneware pans if you have them | Stoneware pans aren’t a requirement, but I do find that metal pans are hard to compare once you’ve used stoneware. They create such an even uniform heat all around and the bread turns out so lovely!

My favorite are the Pampered Chef Stoneware pans which I’ve found second hand!

The mixer you use doesn’t matter too much | If you have a Kitchenaid stand mixer or something comparable with a dough hook attachment, I’d recommend using that!

We don’t actually have a stand mixer, though, and for years I’ve been using my hand mixer for the early stages of this process, and it works just fine!

You could even just use a wooden spoon if you don’t have a powered mixer of any kind.

Making the Homemade Bread Recipe:

To start I use my largest metal mixing bowl to give myself plenty of space at the end of the process when I need to knead the dough all together!

I add the liquids first:

• 4 cups of hot water
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup honey*

*If I’m making a sugar-free version, which I do often for myself, I substitute the following for the honey:

• 1/4 cup water
• 2 teaspoons stevia extract

The taste is still wonderful, and the bread still rises just the way the loaves do with honey as the natural sugar.

I start adding my flour in incrementally because it makes it easier to mix rather than trying to dump all 11 1/2 cups in at once!

Once I’ve mixed the first 2 1/2 cups in, I add:

• 1 tablespoon yeast (I like this one from Red star, which can be found at Costco. The bag lasts for a while, and I store it in the fridge between uses.)
• 1 tablespoon salt (I like this celtic sea salt)
• 2 1/2 additional cups of flour.

Once that’s all mixed in, I add the remaining 6 1/2 cups of flour and mix until well combined.

Then I start the process of kneading to get everything fully mixed and combined.

I feel like with years of experience with making bread, you start to recognize the texture of bread that is “done” being kneaded.

My favorite trick is to try pressing my thumb into the dough – if it sticks and comes out with dough on it, it’s still in need of more kneading. If my thumb comes out clean, my job is done!

Once it’s finished being kneaded, I form it into a large rectangle and cut it into 3 even sections.

Then I roughly form each section into an oval slightly smaller than the bottom of the pan and smooth and fold/tuck the sides under and into the middle bottom to create a pretty-looking loaf.

Then I set them each in their pans and put the pans together into the cold oven for 25 minutes to give them time to rise.

Then I preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit with the loaves still inside.

Once it’s gotten to temperature, I cook the loaves for 40-45 minutes, and then they’re done!

Yum!

The scent of freshly filled bread fills the house – and shortly thereafter, the taste fills our stomachs!

Here’s the printable recipe for you to save!

I hope you love this bread as much as we do!

I’d love to hear in the comments below if you try it and how you like it!

If you enjoy cooking, another of my favorite recipes is my canned apple pie filling! I’ll be making some more myself this week to use up some extra apples.

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Warmly,