Do you bake your own bread? I used to be intimidated at the thought of all the kneading and rising steps associated with baking my daily bread, but this easy everyday bread recipe really changed my life! It only has a few ingredients and truly is easy enough to make everyday if needed!
This is a no-knead dough, so that takes a lot of the traditional work out of this recipe. I usually mix it in my KitchenAid mixer *affiliate link* because it sits on my counter, and therefore, it’s easy for me. At my old house, however, I usually just mixed this up in a large bowl with a sturdy spoon, because that was easier. I promise, neither way is really better, the results and effort are basically the same!
A few notes:
- I never measure the water temperature when baking bread. All you really need to know is that water that is too hot will kill your yeast. I run tap water until it feels just barely hotter than my body temperature, and then I measure out my 3 cups. If in doubt, err on the side of adding water that is too cool rather than too hot.
- Next I add the yeast and salt, but don’t dilly dally too much after this step, as these two ingredients don’t play too well together if they sit too long without the flour.
- I like to add about half the flour, mix, and then add the remaining flour. I feel like it is the easiest way to distribute the yeast and salt. No one wants all the salt in one bite!
- I let my dough rise for about 2 hours covered on the counter, then I transfer to 2 greased (bacon grease or butter) bread pans and allow it to rise for about 45 more minutes before baking.
- This dough is fairly forgiving. It doesn’t mind being forgotten, although if you forget about it all day, you will get a denser loaf in the end.
- The amount of air in the atmosphere can definitely affect how wet the dough is. It’s no-knead dough, so just roll with it, it still works!
- 3 cups warm water
- 1½ tbsp yeast
- 1½ tbsp kosher salt
- 6½ cups all-purpose flour (can swap out 2 cups for whole wheat flour)
- Bacon grease or other fat for greasing the pan(s)
- Measure warm water into mixing bowl and add yeast and salt.
- Add 3½ cups flour (I like to use 2 cups of whole wheat here)
- Mix well.
- Add in remaining 3 cups of flour and mix well.
- Cover bowl with a clean cloth and set aside in a warm place for 2 hours.
- Heavily grease 2 loaf pans with bacon grease, butter or other oil of your choice.
- Divide dough into the 2 pans, cover with cloth again and allow to rise for 45 more minutes
- Bake at 425° for 30 minutes.
You may have noticed that this recipe is very similar to the Cast Iron Bread that I posted awhile back. It is a very versatile recipe and with a little practice, you can turn this recipe into many different shapes and sizes of bread!
If you like this recipe, you might also like my “Baking Bread” Pinterest Board! And of course, be sure to sign up for Beulah’s Moooooooosletter so you don’t miss a minute of the baking fun!
***This post contains affiliate links. Items purchased from these links do not cost you any extra, but a small percentage of the purchase price goes toward keeping Beulah in cow treats, so she thanks you!***
Thanks for sharing this great recipe 🙂 I love making my own bread, but I’ve been searching for an easy every day bread (I’ve been making lots of artisan loaves).
This seems perfect and I can’t wait to try it!
What’s the difference between kosher salt and regular salt? Will it make a difference if I use table salt?
Table salt works just fine! Any salt should OK in this recipe. Kosher salt tends to be more pure, and I like the size of the flakes for cooking, so that is what I normally use. Sea salt works as well, and I plan to experiment with pink salt soon! Thanks for reading!
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Okay, I pretty much cook from scratch now and everything usually turns out okay, except for my bread. Well, anything with yeast anyway. I have tried all different kinds of yeast. If I give this another go is this a bread that you can make the dough and let it rise overnight and then back in the morning? Or is that too long to rise? I am a bread rookie for sure.
What I would do is mix it up and let it rise slowly overnight in the fridge and then bake in the morning! It should turn out great! Let me know if it doesn’t and we can trouble-shoot!
Hi! Thanks so much for sharing your recipe. So I have never cooked with yeast… I have looked at it at the store, and I have no idea what to get. What do you use?
Hi Jennifer! To get started, I would buy the little jar of yeast in the grocery store that says it’s for bread machines. That just means you can measure your own instead of using the little packets. If you get hooked on baking, you will likely find that you can get yeast much cheaper online (I use Amazon.) I buy 2lbs of “Redstar” brand at a time. It lasts me about a year and I store it in a Mason jar in the freezer. I hope this helps!
ok – typically anything that says yeast scare me to death…..but this looks simple enough (and yummy enough) that i’m willing to try it!
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As a bread baker with a lot of experience…and, in cooking in general as well, I have a word about salt. There is a reason to use Kosher salt when specified rather than a substitute. You don’t really notice the difference until you make something that is salt sensetive and find you’ve got way too much. Of the 3 kinds of salt: Table, Kosher and Sea, Kosher is the least salty, followed by sea salt, then table salt. If a recipe calls for Kosher, try to use it if possible or you will need to reduce the amount.