There’s nothing quite like homemade bread. For those of us with food allergies, making our bread is the only way we can get our quick fix of tasty carbs. Bread is remarkably simple to make, though a lot of people seem really terrified to try making it themselves. Below I’ve posted a couple of videos on simple bread recipes and below THAT, I have my own simple bread recipe that I use all the time at home.

Bread Challenge

Try making some bread and post your pictures and/or recipes in the comments below! I’d love to see everyone’s first attempt at bread!

Simple Bread Recipe

3 cups lukewarm water {85-105 degrees}
1 1/2 Tablespoon yeast {2 packages}
1/4 cup sweetening {honey, molasses or brown sugar}
4 cup whole wheat flour {substitute 1 or more cups of unbleached white flour if desired}

measure the water {3 cups}; lukewarm {85- 105}, does not feel warm or cold on your wrist. measure the baker’s yeast {2 T} for faster rising and lighter bread, use 1.5-2 times amount in recipe. sprinkle yeast over water and stir lightly to dissolve
add sweetening {1/4 cup}; 2 Tab. would be quite sufficient for the growth of the yeast, while larger amounts may be added for those with sweet tooths.; rinse measuring cup in liquid to clean.

If eggs are desired, beat and add at this stage, adding more flour if needed for proper consistency of dough. Or eggs may be added to the completed sponge ~after~ flour is in and the batter beaten.

then add whole wheat flour a cup or so at a time, stirring briskly after each addition. as mixture thickens, begin beating with the spoon, stirring up and down in small strokes and in small circles at the surface of the mixture. scrape sides of bowl occasionally. after 4 cups of flour have been added, the mixture will be quite thick but still beatable, a thick mud.

now beat about 100 times until the batter is very smooth. do this at the surface of the dough ducking the spoon under the surface, bringing it up above the surface pulling up the batter in a circular motion. the dough will become stretchier as you do this and much air wil be incorporated. this completes the mixing of the sponge.

Setting of the dough to rise:
Cover the bowl with a damp towel to keep off draft. set in warmish place {about 85-100 degrees} in summer, almost any place might do. otherwise on the top of stove over pilot light, shelf above the hot water heater, in oven which has pilot light, or in oven which has been turned on for several minutes then turned off . whichever. if it’s in a cooler place {70-85} it’ll just rise more slowly. if it’s frozen it won’t rise at all but will rise when it’s unfrozen. heat above about 125-130 degrees will kill yeast, which is what happens when the bread is baked.

let it rise for an hour or 45 minutes.