Adapting A Manual Recipe For The Bread Machine
When converting a handmade bread recipe to the bread machine, it helps to have a cheat sheet. Review some bread machine recipes that you’ve had success with. How many cups of flour are in them? How much liquid? Then, adjust the ingredient amounts from the manual bread recipe, being careful not to exceed your machine’s capacity. Consider that most handmade bread recipes make two loaves and can be divided in half to make a recipe that is roughly the right size for a bread machine. For example, a handmade bread recipe that makes two 9×5-inch loaves may be divided in half to make a 1 1/2-pound bread machine loaf.
Formulas for Sizing Your Recipe:
- 1-pound loaf takes about 7/8 cup liquid and 2 3/4 cups flour.
- 1.5-pound loaf takes about 1 cup liquid and 3 cups flour.
- 2-pound loaf takes about 1 1/3 cup liquid and 4 cups flour.
What Material Is Best For Mixing Bowls
Most mixing bowls are either metal, glass or ceramic and in some cases plastic. The best type of bowl for bread making is metal because its light-weight, you cant break it and its good for keeping the dough warm. Although dough will still rise in any type of bowl, it just might be a bit slower.
For speciality doughs such as sourdough you might want to consider using a glass bowl so you can see the air bubbles as its rising.
If you have a stand mixer with a dough hook, you can use the mixer bowl to rise dough after its been kneaded by the dough hook to save on washing up.
This is great way to quickly make bread and really hands off, because you just weigh, mix and then cover to rise.
Do I Need A Bread Maker Or Stand Mixer
NO! You dont need any special equipment for this white bread recipe. If you have a stand mixer it makes the process easier, but you can simply use a mixing bowl and wooden spoon, and then knead the dough with your hands. You can use bread machine with this recipe if you have one, but you may need to cut the recipe in half , depending on your machines capacity.
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How Do You Use A Pizza Stone
Here are some tips for the best results when using a pizza stone to bake pizza or bread:
- Place your pizza stone in the oven before you turn it on to avoid cracking your stone.
- Make sure your dough is at room temperature as refrigerated or frozen dough could cause the stone to crack.
- Its highly recommended that you also use a dough peel to get your pizza onto the stone quickly in the hot oven.
- If you dont have a dough peel you could use a flat baking sheet, but make sure you wear oven gloves too.
- Its best not to wash your pizza stone, just brush or wipe it down after use and keep it in a dry place.
- For a quick and easy transfer onto the baking stone, try using a bit of semolina to prevent the dough sticking to the peel.
Top Tips For Perfect Homemade Bread:
- Mix the flour, salt and yeast in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre, add the oil and water, and mix well. If the dough seems a little stiff, add 1-2 tbsp water.
- Tip the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead it until the dough becomes satin-smooth.
- Place it in a lightly oiled bowl to prove. Leave to prove for 1 hour until doubled in size or place in the fridge overnight.
- Knock back the dough, then gently mould it into a ball. Place it on a baking tray lined with parchment to prove for a further hour until doubled in size.
- Dust the loaf with flour and cut a cross, about 6cm wide, into the top of the loaf.
- Preheat the oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7 and bake for 25-30 minutes.
- Bake until golden brown and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped underneath.
- Cool on a wire rack.
Turn your homemade loaf into a delicious breakfast with our review of the best toasters.
TIPS
VIDEO RECIPE
This video uses our Easy white bread recipe. It shows the basic techniques needed for most bread recipes.
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How Do You Know If Your Kitchen Scales Are Accurate
When you buy good quality digital scales for the kitchen they will be pre calibrated which means they should be accurate.
Over time is possible for kitchen scales to lose a bit of their accuracy, this could be a problem when it comes to making bread because precise measurements are important.
You can check if your scales are still accurate by weighing an item such as an unopened bag of flour where you know what the weight should be. You might need to add a bit on for packaging.
Its also worth checking a light item if you were going to be weighing out small amounts such as yeast or salt.
How To Store Homemade White Bread
The fact is homemade white bread doesnt keep for too long, since it doesnt have preservatives like store-bought bread.
So its important to keep your homemade bread in a container that allows for some ventilation, to let the the bread breathe. This white bread will keep for about 4-5 days this way.
But what I personally like to do , is to slice the bread once it cools down, and then place these bread slices in a container or sealable bag and freeze. This keeps the bread fresh for much longer! Then I just remove the slices I need from the freezer, and let them thaw out whenever needed.
However, never refrigerate bread. The dry air in the fridge will make the bread go stale even faster.
Seriously, theres something just so satisfying about a slice of white bread, when youve made it yourself! Even from frozen, it tastes incredibly fresh and DELICIOUS.
Peanut butter and jam sandwiches are a whole new level of comfort with this homemade white bread recipe!
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Why You Should Be Making This White Bread Loaf Recipe
- Make no mistake, this homemade bread recipe is simple to make.
- Incredibly soft and delicious, with just a touch of sweetness, its easily the best white bead Ive ever tasted!
- Really substantial, unlike the sad, flimsy store-bought white bread.
- Its free of all the sodium and preservatives of store-bought bread, and its made with simple ingredients. Whats not to love?
- This recipe provides STEP BY STEP instructions, on how to make the perfect loaf of bread
I guarantee youll never want to go back to store-bought white bread after tasting this!
How To Make Bread Dough The Simplest Way
To get you started, you just need a few ingredients, mix them, then knead them, shape the dough, and let it rise.
The actual work is reduced to about 10 to 15 minutes.
Really quick. You think it might take longer.
Then comes the 2 hours waiting time while the dough rises and about 30 minutes of baking.
Total time to make a loaf by hand using bread flour or all purpose flour: about 3 hours.
I loved learning how to make bread dough by hand but I still cheat. And let me tell you how you can simplify it, too.
Even if you are making recipes that require a conventional oven, you can still let your bread machine do the dough.
Its the easiest way to do it.
You just add the ingredients in the bread makers baking pan, select the Dough setting, and youre done.
In about an hour and a half you can start shaping it and baking it however you want.
Thats exactly how I make it even though now I know how to make bread dough by hand.
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What If I Dont Have All The Ingredients
If you dont have all of the ingredients you need to make a standard loaf of bread, there are some workarounds you can try and still make a tasty bake.
One way of getting around a lack of yeast is to make your own sourdough starter. Though this will require some patience, youll be able to continue growing it and using it to bake with for a long time.
The BBC has a simple recipe here. It recommends using strong white bread flour, although some other recipes use all-purpose flour instead.
Irish soda bread is another alternative if you dont have yeast, and makes use of baking soda in its place.
It is a little more dense than bread made with yeast, but this recipe requires only four ingredients and is very easy to make.
If you are lacking both yeast and self-raising flour, naan bread is a good option to try instead as it can be easily made with just a few ingredients.
How Do I Store Bread To Keep It Fresh
Homemade bread does not have the preservatives of store-bought bread. Generally, a loaf will stay fresh when stored at room temperature for 2 to 3 days. The refrigerator will dry the bread out and should be avoided. The better option is to freeze loaves that you won’t use right away. The bread will thaw perfectly at room temperature in a couple of hours.
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Gather Supplies And Ingredients
Depending on the recipe, you typically need a mixing bowl, whisk, spatula, and a bread pan. Some people might use a food processor or stand mixer with dough hooks to work the bread dough.
Its equally important to choose quality ingredients, especially the bread flour and yeast. Bobs Red Mill and King Arthur Flour are excellent options if you want paleo or gluten free bread. They typically work with any bread recipe and offer advice for using the flour alternative in traditional bread recipes.
You’ll want to use an instant yeast for your bread machine. It will be named instant yeast, bread machine yeast or RapidRise yeast. You will not be using an active dry yeast – as this type of yeast must be dissolved in water first.
Why This Bread Recipe Works
I love baking breads at home. The whole process from making the dough from scratch, kneading with your hands, patiently letting it rise and baking is terrifically relaxing yet exciting at the same time.
Each loaf is slightly different but brings such joy, both to bake and to eat. And theres just nothing better than sharing warm, soft slices of homemade bread with your family and friendsLike handing them a piece of your love!
This easy lean bread recipe is great for customizing with additional ingredients. If you want you can add some milk for a softer bread .
You can also make it into sweet bread by adding extra sugar or bakes a savory white bread by adding herbs and spices.
Below are steps and photos for making a perfectly fluffy and tender basic loaf of white bread. Give this simple homemade bread recipe a try and youll likely fall in love, too.
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What Happens If Your Bread Is Overproofed
Your bread is overproofed when it looks stretched across the top and when you press it with your fingertip, it springs back instantly. If you bake your bread like this, itll crack and collapse. If your bread proofed for too long, just punch it down, knead it briefly and let it proof to the correct size. You can reset the process and still end up with a perfect loaf.
Cost Effective And Healthier
I can find a cheap loaf of bread at the grocery store, but it comes with a long list of ingredients some of which I cannot even pronounce.
If I want to buy bread with quality ingredients, then Im spending 3-4 times more, especially if Im shopping at local bakeries or buying artisan bread.
Making this Homemade Bread Recipe will cost about $1.25 worth of ingredients per loaf and I get to control exactly what ingredients I use!
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How To Store Homemade Bread
Taste of Home
After taking the time to make homemade bread, the last thing you want is for it to go stale before you finish eating it. Storing bread properly is key. Homemade bread lasts for 3 to 4 days when stored correctly. Bread boxes work exceptionally well for keeping your bakes fresh for a few days. If you cant finish your bread in a few days time, learn how to freeze breaditll last for 3 to 6 months in the freezer.
What To Serve With Homemade Bread
Homemade bread is warm and delicious! Comforting and tasty side dish or have it fresh out of the oven as a snack. Enjoy this bread with a simple layer of butter over top or with my homemade strawberry jam. This bread recipe goes perfectly with any dinner as a side or make a quick sandwich for lunch. It is so easy to make and everyone will love the fresh, warm flavor of homemade bread.
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Did Your Quick Bread Sink In The Middle
This happens to me occasionally too! Often its because Ive over mixed the batter. Quick bread does not like to be stirred too much, so try to just barely mix all the ingredients together. Another culprit could be overfilling the pan. The bread pan should be only half full each time. You can make 2 loaves of bread, or you can make 1 loaf of bread and 3 mini loaves or 6 mini loaves. As always, make sure your baking soda isnt too old- it should only be on your shelf for 6-9 months before purchasing new.
Your Bread Isnt Rising
There are lots of reasons your bread might not be proofing the way you envisioned. The most common issue is that your room just isnt warm enough. To remedy this situation, crank up the thermostat or pop your bread in a cold oven with a pan of boiling water. If that doesnt help, check out our list of common reasons your bread isnt rising.
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Divide & Shape The Dough
Remove the dough onto a lightly floured surface.
Cut the dough in half to make 2 loaves, or leave it whole for a single loaf.
How to Shape a Round Sourdough Boule
Starting at the top, fold the dough over toward the center. Give it a slight turn, and then fold over the next section of dough. Repeat until you have come full circle. Or, use the envelope shaping technique outlined below.
Watch the video!
Temperature Affects How Long Your Bread Takes To Rise
If your house is cool, your bread will take longer to rise. In the wintertime when my house is cooler than normal, I like to turn the oven on for 2-3 minutes, then turn it off and let the bowl of dough rise in there. The oven traps the heat for a longtime and its the perfect atmosphere for rising dough.
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How To Make Homemade Bread
Only 6 ingredients to make a simple homemade bread that is delicious in every way. It is a tried and true favorite that my grandma was so generous to pass down to me. I love this bread so much and love the texture and flavor that it has to offer. The dough is made in a stand mixer but can be done by hand as well. Kneading the dough in-between each rise of the dough helps form the dough but also gets out any air bubbles. Make the perfect homemade bread with this recipe today!
Pro Tip from The Recipe Critic
Make sure your warm water isnt too hot. Temperature needs to be between 105-115 degrees.
Optional Reading: More About Flours And Gluten
Gluten, a protein in wheat flour, is what provides the structure in bread, which is why you use high-protein flour to make bread. Strands of gluten are woven together by mixing and then inflate as the yeast multiplies. High-protein flours help give yeast breads a chewy texture, so look for flour ground from hard wheat with 13 or more grams of protein per cup .
If you want to add more stability to your bread, you can add a product called vital wheat gluten. This is especially important if 25% of the total flour in your recipe is a low- or no-gluten variety such as whole wheat flour, cornmeal, rye flour, soy flour or oatmeal. The rule of thumb is to add 1 tablespoon of vital wheat gluten for every cup of low- or no-gluten flour that is being used in your recipe. Bagels and pizza dough also benefit from the added elasticity of high-gluten flour.
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