There’s nothing like freshly baked homemade bread straight out of the oven, but once it cools it isn’t as tasty as it once was. Most homemade bread has a spongy, dry texture, and I never could handle making sandwiches out of it. About a year ago I didn’t have a choice. I had to do something to take some of the burden out of the budget. Making homemade bread may not seem like much, but with 6 kids I was spending $12 a week (that’s almost $50 a month) on bread. You may not think $50 goes far enough to bother making homemade bread, but in my family every little bit helps!
You see, almost 2 years ago my husband and I found out we were going to have our 6th child. He was a surprise, and though he’s been nothing but a blessing we also knew financially it would be even more difficult. For whatever reason God chose to bless us with him, and so we decided to make the best of it. We decided in February I would take the next year off from teaching, so I could not only be with the new born, but to acclimate our 5 year old to the new role of being the second youngest without being resentful of his new status. To do this we had to make changes, and homemade was one way to go.
I’d never made homemade bread apart from using a bread machine. I don’t like bread machine bread at all. The texture is off, and once cooled the flavor leaves much to be desired. A good friend of mine uses her bread machine for the kneading of the dough, but that’s all a bread machine is good for. My friend who uses the bread machine to knead her dough gave me a couple of her bread recipes. The recipes were good, but they were also dry, and I didn’t care for the flavor. The bread was like all the other homemade breads I’d tried. I decided then to try online. Surely there were some recipes that were just like bread isle bread. I tried 3 different recipes. Each had something I liked about it, but each was missing something. I took matters into my own hands, and I began to fiddle with the bread recipes. Two of the simpler recipes I liked, but did not love, were similar, and so I decided to take what I liked from both and make it my own.
This bread I created is so soft, and so moist. It also doesn’t have much of a crust layer for those of you who don’t like crust, and the crust layer it does have is also soft and moist. It doesn’t matter the type of sandwich you wish to make, it all tastes good. Egg salad, peanut butter and jelly, meat and cheese, plain cheese, grilled cheese, and even garlic bread are amazing. My husband loves to warm it in the microwave with butter on it. It doesn’t matter how you use it because it’s all delicious.
Below you’ll find my bread recipe which I adapted to fit my needs and my taste buds. I will tell you this, it’s the closest thing I have come to bread isle bread. It’s soft, moist, and it has the best flavor I have had so far in homemade bread. The best part is, it has the bread isle taste (but better) without all the calories and preservatives. Not only are you getting great sandwich bread, but you are also getting fewer calories and no preservatives. No preservatives means it won’t last as long, unless you put it in the fridge. If you refrigerate the bread, it’ll last you a few more days. With homemade bread you should get a good 3 days out of it, but I’ve pushed it 5 days at times. Its shelf life also depends on the moisture in the air. If we don’t use all our bread in 3–4 days, I’ll use what’s left in my bread pudding recipe. This bread recipe makes the BEST bread pudding ever! Fewer calories also means this bread takes longer to brown. Whether you are toasting it or broiling it, you have to learn the bread because it’s nothing like the store bought bread, but it’s worth it!
This recipe makes two 19 inch loaves. Give it a try, tell me what you think!
(I’ll give you some hints after the bread making directions if you need them)
Ingredients
3 cups hot water
4.5 teaspoons active dry yeast (I do not use the packets because they are not as cost effective)
1 stick butter (I don’t use margarine — if you are using butter or margarine in a tub it’s 1/2 a cup)
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon salt
8–9 cups flour
Directions
Pour your water in a very large container (I use a large rectangular plastic container). Add 4.5 teaspoons (that is the equivalent of 1 tablespoon, 1 teaspoon, and 1 half teaspoon) of yeast, 1 stick of butter, and your 1/4 cup sugar. Stir it together (you want your yeast wet). I let this mixture sit for 5 minutes or so to activate the yeast. Add 8–9 cups flour depending on how wet or dry you like your dough. I tend to like mine a little on the moist side. Mix with a spoon until the liquid is sopped up, then finish combining with your hands. Knead for about 4–6 minutes. You can use a Kitchen Aid to knead if you don’t like to do it by hand. I prefer to use my hands.
Once kneaded, let sit covered in a warm place for 30 minutes to an hour, or until doubled in size. Punch the dough down, split in two equal parts. With each part, pat or roll the dough out to be at least 19–20 inches long (that is if you are using a 19 inch bread loaf pan), and approximately 9–12 inches wide. The width really doesn’t matter, you want to make sure it’ll fit the length of the bread pan. Roll the dough as tight as you can starting on the long side. Don’t freak out about rolling it tight, it’s not that big a deal. The main thing is to make sure you’ve patted or rolled out as many air bubbles as you can so there are no large holes in your bread.
Place the dough into a greased bread pan. I use vegetable shortening. Allow to rise up to 30 minutes. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Place bread on middle rack (bottom rack if you don’t have a middle rack), and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool 5–10 minutes in pan, then flip onto wire rack to finish cooling before placing in storage. I use plastic storage bags.
Tips and Tricks
I am by no means a professional, but I’ve learned what works, so if you are having issues with your bread you can email me if the following is not helpful to you. I’ll try to add a video or two so you can see how moist my dough is, and how I knead it, then maybe you’ll get a good idea of what it’s supposed to look like. I just have to make sure my 5 year old can handle the phone…lol. He can do it, but it might feel like you’re on a roller coaster!
Yeast:
If your yeast is fairly new (a week or 2 old, maybe even older) it should still be working properly. If you aren’t certain, you may want to proof it with a cup of water and the sugar before you add the rest of the water, butter, and salt. When it’s frothy or foamy you know it’s good. Proofing should only take about 5 minutes
I discovered my yeast does best when I measure my water out after I’ve allowed the water from the faucet to get as hot as it can get. If your water heater is set too hot this could be bad for the yeast. I used a meat thermometer the first several times I made the bread. Your water should be between 105–108 degrees F. However, the yeast will multiply faster at 95 degrees. Any colder or hotter and your bread will likely fail.
Salt:
Salt actually slows the yeast’s growth, so I won’t usually add the salt until after the 5 minutes I’ve let it the mixture sit. I don’t always do this, and it has never hurt my bread. It just depends on how I’m feeling. If you wait to add your salt until you’ve allowed your yeast to proof, don’t forget to add it in. I’ve done this, and the bread is horrible without salt. Don’t make my mistake!
Kneading:
Whether you’re kneading your bread by hand or with some sort of machine, do not over do it. The kneading really works up the gluten in the flour which is the stuff that makes the bread “stick” together. Your bread will be firmer and less moist if you knead it too long. Moist dough doesn’t mean it needs to be kneaded longer, it just means you have moist dough and it’s going to be a little harder to work with than dryer dough. I find my bread is moister with moister dough. You just have to fiddle with it and get it where you like it!
On the flip side, not kneading it long enough will make the bread want to fall apart after it’s baked.
The 2nd Rise:
I don’t always let my bread rise the full 30 minutes after I’ve placed it in he loaf pans. The bread will continue to rise as it’s baked, so it depends on how tall you want your loaves.
Baking Time and Temperature:
This one can be tricky. It took me several tries before I found out the correct temperature and baking time for my bread. 30 minutes at 375 degrees is a good start…you have to know your oven. The most important thing is preheating your oven.