Against the Grain: 3 Ways to Make Homemade Bread

“They broke bread in their homes

And ate together with 

Glad and sincere hearts.”

Acts 2:46

In a world of viruses, quarantines, and grocery shortages, it’s always good to know how to make your own foods. Especially ones that are fulfilling, can feed the multitudes, and allow you and your family to bake and have fun together!

The first bread recipe we’re going to do is just a simple Homemade White Bread recipe. We’ll start out with the recipe that calls for the least amount of ingredients and work our way up.

HOMEMADE WHITE BREAD:

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup of water
• 2 ½ -2 ¾ teaspoons of active dry yeast
• ¼ cup of Canola oil
• 1 egg
• 3 cups of flour
• 1 ½ teaspoons of salt
• 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar

Process:

1. Mix the warm water and granulated sugar together, stir until dissolved.
2. Add in yeast and stir
3. Let this sit for at least 5 minutes (at this point, the yeast will begin to rise a bit. Do not be alarmed, contrary to the belief of my 5 year old cousin, this is not the equivalent of a volcanic eruption).
4. Now, add the egg, salt, flour, and oil. Mix until you’re pretty sure you can’t possibly mix anymore. That sounds like a long time, don’t fret, this should take 2 minutes tops. Unless you mix it with your hands, then it will take longer. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
5. Next, you’ll want to knead the bread. You can do this with your hands, or with a mixer. Knead until it has reached your desired fluffiness.
6. Once step 5 is finished, take a bowl, oil it, place the kneaded dough inside to rise, and put a towel over the bowl. The rising of the bread should take around 15 minutes, the warmer the atmosphere, the quicker it will rise. 
7. Punch the dough (this is good stress relief, but it also gets air pockets out of the dough).
8. Cut the dough evenly into 2 pieces
9. Roll the dough into an oblong shape and place into a pan.
10. Let the bread rise again for 10 more minutes, you can also take this time to preheat your oven.
11. Place in oven to bake (400° F for 35 minutes, or until golden brown).
12. Lastly, LET THE BREAD COOL DOWN BEFORE YOU EAT IT. You only make that mistake once.

Gluten Free Bread:

Ingredients: 

• 2 cups of warm water
• 4 ½  teaspoons of active dry yeast
• ¼ cup of Canola oil
• ½ ground flaxseed
• 4 eggs
• 4 cups of gluten free flour
• 1 tablespoon of salt
• 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon of xanthan gum
• 1 ½ cups of almond milk

Process:

1. In a bowl, mix 1 cup of warm water and granulated sugar together, stir until dissolved. We’ll call this Bowl A.
2. Add in yeast and stir
3. In another bowl, which we will call Bowl B, mix the second cup of water and the ground flaxseed. Let this sit, while the yeast proofs.
4. Combine Bowl A and Bowl B and mix on low until the lumps are gone.
5. Once the mixture is smooth, turn the mixer on high and let it go for 3 minutes. At this point, get your bread pans ready and oiled, so the bread doesn’t stick. 
6. Once the mixing is done, cut the dough in half and split between 2 bread pans. Cover the pans with a towel and let rise for about 35 minutes and preheat your oven to 375° F
7. Once the dough is done rising, bake the bread on 200° F for 45 minutes, or until golden brown. 
8. ONCE AGAIN, LET THE BREAD COOL BEFORE YOU EAT IT. 

This next recipe does not use as many ingredients, but it does require an overnight rise. Don’t worry though, it’s WELL WORTH the wait!

NO KNEAD ROSEMARY DUTCH OVEN BREAD:

Ingredients:

• 3 cups of flour
• 1 ¾ tsp of salt
• ½ tsp of active dry yeast
• 1 ½ cups of water
• ¾ cups of chopped fresh rosemary

AND

• Dutch Oven (this is needed, but you can try it without it if you’re feeling adventurous)! 

Process:

1. Mix the water, flour, salt, rosemary, and yeast together. 
2. This is the tricky part, cover the bowl of the mixed ingredients and let it sit overnight (at least 12 hours). This is not the fun part, but hey, at least you don’t have to do anything during this time!
3. Once the wait is over, preheat the oven to 450° F, and allow your Dutch Oven to preheat, as well.
4. Once the Dutch Oven is preheated, remove it from the oven and take off the lid.
5. Now, remove your dough and begin to form it into the shape you want.
6. Place the dough into the Dutch Oven
7. Put the lid back onto the Dutch Oven and bake for 30 minutes.
8. Now, remove the lid and let it bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.
9. LET IT COOL!

And the last step for each of the recipes is….Stay home, stay safe, and enjoy!!!