Bread is one of the most basic and representative food items that carries much significance in our daily lives and taste buds. A staple for many and yet a coveted luxury, baking bread at home will now be a piece of cake, or might I say, piece of bread, with the help of the following steps:

Step 1: Get your Ingredients in Place

Here is a list of all the necessary ingredients for baking bread:

• Yeast 2 tbsp
• Lukewarm water (between 95 and 115 degrees F.)- 2 cups
• Bread flour: 2 cups for sponge and 3 cups for later, total 5 cups
• Sugar: 2 tbsp
• Salt: 2 tsp
• Oil: 2 tbsp
• 3 loaf pans
• 1 quick-read thermometer
• An over pre-heated to 375

Step 2: Activating the Yeast

Once your ingredients are in place, you can start by mixing the hot water and the flour in a large bowl. Add in the sugar, oil, salt and the yeast. Once you let this sit for about 8 to 10 minutes, with sufficiently heated water, the mixture will turn bubbly with a nice, warm texture.

This is called yeast activation. In other words, we can say that we use a ‘sponge’ to activate the yeast, ultimately setting the process into motion.

Step 3: Making the Dough

Once the yeast is activated, add 3 cups of flour to the ‘sponge’. The measurements completely depend on the quantity and composition of the sponge as well as the humidity. However, 3 cups is standard. Once the mixture is tough enough that it cannot be stirred or mixed anymore, flip it onto a clean surface sprinkled with flour. Once flipped, knead the dough for 8 to 9 minutes and keep adding flour whenever needed.

The ideal texture would be a smooth surface without any creases. Once that is achieved, roll it back into the bowl and cover it with a slightly damp towel.

 

Step 4: Rise and Shine

Leave the dough to rest in a warm place for about 45 minutes to 1 hour. You will see that the dough will almost double its size by rising over time most probably above the rim of your bowl. Punch this risen dough down and then divide them according to your pans. Grease the pans before putting the dough in them. Once in the pans, cover them and let them rise until they reach about half of the pan’s height.

After achieving the aforementioned feat of rising, put the pans (with the bread loaves) in the preheated oven. Let the loaves bake for about 25 minutes. The quick read thermometer is used here to check whether it reads between 180 and 190 degrees. Upon reaching that temperature, you can pull the pans out and carefully make the loaves stand on their sides. Wait for a few minutes, after which you can empty the pans on the same rack, leaving the bread loaves to cool for some time.

 

Step 5: Eat and Share

You can cut the bread loaves and eat your own, home-made, healthy bread with many kinds of dips and salads. You can also try making garlic bread, toasts and bruschetta from this very basic bread recipe.

Another variety you can try is mixing in nuts, chocolate chips, cinnamon, banana, and so on. There are endless possibilities to the science of bread making and they are open to the limits of your imagination.

Enjoy your fresh-baked bread!

And as always:

Stay Fresh & Happy Cooking!