Easy Homemade Bread: Master the Art of Baking (No Experience Required!)
Did you know that the average American household spends over $800 a year on store-bought bread?
Imagine saving that money while filling your home with the irresistible smell of freshly baked bread! All too often, I would find myself wanting to take on baking bread and just be overwhelmed by the process. Enter the easy bread recipe that saved my bread baking relationship.
The aesthetic of the pretty sourdough loaves was enough to draw me in, and for the better part of a year I tried and tried to find time for sourdough. But, I couldn’t. It wasn’t simple enough. But in 2024, I made it my mission to find an easy homemade bread recipe. I had a recipe given to me and was amazed with how simple it was! It takes 5-10 minutes to whip up the starter batch of dough, and when I want to make bread…all I have to do is open the fridge, cut off a chunk of dough, shape, and bake! My mind was blown. The BEST part was my family loved this new simple bread. I had struck some weird homemade bread goldmine.
Gone are the days of complicated recipes and time-consuming processes. With just a few simple ingredients and some basic know-how, you’ll be whipping up delicious loaves in no time. Trust me, there’s nothing quite like slicing into a warm, crusty loaf you’ve made with your own two hands. Ready to roll up your sleeves and get baking? Let’s cover the basics of what you’ll need and then get started!
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Essential Ingredients for Easy Homemade Bread
- All-purpose flour: the backbone of your bread (We prefer unbleached organic flour! If you want to get fancy, you could mill your own flour!
- Yeast (instant or active): Your secret weapon for foolproof rising
- Salt: The flavor enhancer you can’t skip!
- Water: a simple but necessary key to perfect dough consistency
- Optional add-ins: Seeds, herbs, grains, fruits, and sometimes we do chocolate chip bread.
Simple Tools for Hassle-Free Bread Making
- Large mixing bowl: Your dough’s first home (we’ll be using a 5 quart one today. I love these bowls and they come w/ lids AND in a bunch of different colors!
- Measuring cups and spoons: Precision is key
- Dutch oven or baking sheet: For that perfect crust. I’ve used both. Baking sheets are usually what I end up using for less fuss. Dutch oven is when I have time and the brain capacity to do so!
- Kitchen towel: For covering your dough during rising (flour sack towels are ALWAYS my go to here.)
- Parchment paper: Your best friend for easy cleanup
Step-by-Step Guide to Easy Homemade Bread
Alright. Are you ready? This recipe will make a bulk batch that will be stored in the fridge. Daily, or whenever you want to bake, you’ll cut off a chunk of dough, shape it and let it set, and then throw it in the oven to bake. This is going to be short, simple, and sweet. Here’s your recipe!
- 3 cups lukewarm water (warmer than body temp, but not scorching)
- 1-1/2 Tbsp granulated yeast (1-1/2 packets)
- 1-1/2 Tbsp coarse kosher or sea salt
- 6-1/2 cups unsifted, unbleached, all-purpose white flour
- Cornmeal for your pan/parchment paper would also work
Day 1: Mixing & Storing the Dough
- Start with adding warm water to a 5 quart bowl. (warmer than body temp)
- Add yeast and salt to the water in your bowl. If it doesn’t fully dissolve, don’t worry about it!
- Mix in the flour. Your scoops of flour should be fluffy, I usually spoon my flour into the measuring cup and level off the top with a knife. DO NOT pat your flour down. It will be dense and more than necessary. This should form a uniformly moist dough. Do NOT knead the dough, this should be completed quickly for a wet loose dough.
- Cover loosely. With a few pieces of plastic wrap, OR with a lid that isn’t fully sealed. We need to let the gases escape. Allow this mixture to rise at room temp until it begins to collapse/flatten or approximately two hours(this could be longer or shorter depending on the weather/temp where you live). Take a break here and relax, this doesn’t need babysat like most traditional recipes. After it has collapsed/flattened you can use a portion of the dough!
- Refrigerate the dough for at least three hours before shaping a loaf! It will be easier to shape!
Day 2 : Baking Day
- Sprinkle corn meal (or lay down parchment paper), on a baking pan/pizza peel. Set aside.
- Sprinkle the surface of the dough with flour, and then cut off roughly a 1 pound ball of dough. Think the size of a grapefruit. It’ll be easiest to cut the dough with a serrated knife. Hold the dough in your hands and add flour as needed. You want the dough to not stick to your hands. Gently stretch the surface of the dough around to the bottom. You’ll rotate the dough ball in your hand as you go. Once you have the bottom bunched with the stretched dough, place the ball on the pizza peel and let it rest for about 40 minutes or so. It may or may not rise during this time.
- About 20 minutes before baking, preheat your oven to 450 degrees with a baking stone on the middle rack. I like to use a pan on a lower shelf to add water and steam to the oven while it bakes.
- Now that the oven is preheated, dust the top of your loaf with flour, and slash the top. It should be 1/4 inch deep and helps the bread expand. You can get creative here if you want, but a simple ‘x’ or scalloped line will work.
- Transfer the loaf either on the parchment paper, or use a jerking motion to get it onto your baking stone. If you’re having a lazy day, you can opt for baking directly on your pan you let it rest on. I’ve done this before and it doesn’t effect the taste…which is all we really care about here.
- Quickly add about a cup of hot water into the empty pan below your bread, and bake for about 30 minutes. OR until the crust is browned and firm to the touch.
- Refrigerate your remaining dough in your covered but not airtight container, and use it up over the course of two weeks. The flavor of the bread will mature over the two week period.
There you have it, folks! An easy bread recipe with things you might already have in your home! Not only that but this recipe is lenient, it’s not finicky, make it as you will and enjoy the end result. Remember, practice makes perfect, so don’t be discouraged if your first loaf isn’t Instagram-worthy. Each attempt will bring you closer to bread perfection. The best part? You’ll be saving money, avoiding preservatives, and impressing your friends and family with your newfound skills. So, what are you waiting for? Grab those ingredients, preheat that oven, and get ready to fill your home with the comforting aroma of freshly baked bread. Trust me, once you start, you’ll wonder why you ever bought bread from the store! Happy baking, and don’t forget to share your delicious creations with loved ones – there’s nothing quite like breaking bread together!
