Our Daily Bread...

*don't forget about my giveaway here for an initial gold disk pendant necklace and also sign up for the ornament swap I am hosting with Alisha and Ashley, the deadline is Monday!

One of the best smells to me is the smell of bread baking in the oven. It just seems to wrap the entire house up in that smell and settles in every nook and cranny. Then when the loaf is done baking and you take it out of the pain, set the bread on a cutting board and either tear or slice it up, the smell escapes from the bread even more up into your nostrils.
With the temperatures finally dropping here in CA, there is nothing I love more than a soup or stew with homemade bread for dinner. I think it is one of life's most perfect meals. 
Recently, it was one of those most soup and bread for dinner days, so I found what looked like a great bread recipe from the trusty old Internet. The results were good, that baking bread smell definitely filled my whole house. While the dough didn't rise as much as I would have liked, which I know was due to it not being very warm in the house, I will definitely make this recipe again in the future.
Let's make bread!
First, gather together your ingredients. This recipe yields 2 loaves. 
2 teaspoons active dry-yeast, 1 cup warm water, 2 tablespoons butter, 1 cup milk (whole, 2%, nonfat, all will work), 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon salt, 5 1/2 - 6 1/2 cups flour.

Warm water means you should be able to stick your finger into the water and leave it there for several seconds. If it is too hot, don't use the water it will kill the yeast and the dough won't rise. 
In your mixing bowl, add the water and yeast. 



Let the yeast bloom for 5 minutes. While the yeast is blooming, melt the butter and then add the milk, sugar and salt. 


Once the yeast has bloomed, add the butter and milk mixture along with 1 cup of flour into the mixing bowl. 



Turn your machine on to mix all the ingredients together until you have a lumpy batter. 



Add in the remaining amount of flour and let the machine knead the dough for 8-10 minutes. 

Once the dough is fully kneaded, place it on a well-oiled bowl and let it sit for about an hour until it doubles in size.


 Once the dough has doubled, place it on your counter and divide the dough in half for each loaf. ( I didn't do this part because I divided the recipe to make only one loaf). Let the balls sit on the counter for 10 minutes. Then shape them into rectangle-like to fit the greased bread pans. Let the dough rise again for another 30-40 minutes. 
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Once the oven is preheated, slash the tops of the loaf and place them into the oven. Immediately turn down the oven to 375 degrees and bake the loaves for 30-35 minutes. 
The loaves are done when tapped on, they sound hollow. Remove the loaves from the oven when they are baked, take them out of the pans and let them cool slightly or completely before you slice. 



Then serve, eat and enjoy with a bowl of sweet potato soup like Sean and I did!



recipe via here

32 comments:

Helene said...

i do love the smell of bread, its so homey. this looks delicious!

Alissa said...

Yum! I remember when my mom would make us homemade bread. This looks super good!

still being [molly] said...

ooooo this looks so yummy, meg!! i started making bread last spring and it's so good!!

Wine and Summer said...

I'm always afraid of making bread, but this looks delicious!

Lauren said...

yummo! I was in charge of rolls for our family Thanksgiving & I LOVED how it made my house smell! I need to bake a loaf or two just for our family!

TheTinyHeart said...

I've never baked my own bread before and that looks delicious!

-Sharon
The Tiny Heart
Starbucks + Ad Space Giveaway!

Unknown said...

Wow that looks seriously delicious! It's recipes like these that make me wish I wasn't on a low carb diet!

Rachel said...

Bread is probably one of my favorite foods. I've never made my own from scratch, but I've had plenty from other people. So good mmmm

Life Unsweetened

birdie to be said...

YUM! This looks delish! Happy Friday!

Sarah Alway said...

Yum! But I am scared of the yeast part... I would inevitably screw that up and then be sad when my bread didn't rise or tasted terrible!

Krista said...

I've never made my own bread but that looks amazing!

Kalie said...

I agree with you - fresh baked bread is the best!

Kristin said...

warm fresh bread is seriously the best!!

Unknown said...

I've always wanted to bake my own bread...this looks absolutely amazing!

REBrown said...

I love homemade bread!

Lauren {By Lauren M} said...

YUM. You are so right. The smell of bread baking is one of the best out there. This looks so delicious!

Fizz and Frosting

Katie@iifollowrivers said...

I LOVE homemade bread! I haven't made it in years though...I'm always afraid of getting the one packet of inactive yeast that could ruin all that hard work! lol Maybe I'll start making bread again one of these days!

Sarah said...

Wow that looks great! Though easy, I don't have the patience to wait for it to rise twice...I need to work on that, haha! We did have the soup part of your dinner this week though. yum!

Kayla Peveler said...

Making your own bread is amazing. So fun and it smells incredible!! Looks delicious! :)

Unknown said...

Oh my goodness!
That's so impressive and looks so delicious!
It almost looks easy enough for even me to attempt ;)
XO
Angela
http://fashionablecents.blogspot.com

Sarah said...

I can make a mean banana bread, but not with yeast and all that. You are a brave momma! Great job!

palmandpineblog said...

Yum! Looks delish :)

xo, tasha
Enter to win a monogram pendant necklace

Melanie said...

I love homemade breat looks delish!

Melanie @ keepitsimpleandfun.blogspot.com

helen said...

omgoodness you are too amazing with your homemade bread! i've been craving soups and have been making them lately since it's finally cold in california! i haven't tried bread though, and now i want to. thanks for the inspiration! :)

Tiara | a Happy Healthy Home said...

Nothing beats homemade bread! A slice would have been perfect with my soup at lunch :) Have a great weekend.

Allison said...

I love homemade bread. Yummmm! This looks perfect for a cool evening. :)

The Lady Okie said...

I'm not allowed to bake bread because I eat it all too fast and fight people over it.
Okay not really. But I DO love bread. I might have to try that. Looks so good!

Rach said...

This looks so delicious, friend!

Stephanie said...

Thanks for commenting on my blog! After reading this post, you have me wanting to dig out my bread maker from the basement and start a loaf of bread, mmmmm!

Unknown said...

This looks so good! I looooooove bread!!!!

www.daisyraeboutique.com
www.kacieskloset.blogspot.com

Discovery Street said...

one day I'll make my own bread...after i learn how to bake the easy stuff, like cookies, without burning them! lol

Whitney Cypert said...

This. Looks. Amazing. Mmmmm...I can just smell it too! Not much beats a fresh loaf of bread with some butter! Hope you had a great weekend!