I am new to bread making and I am hoping someone can give me an easy bread recipe to get started with. I tried a few times already but, my bread comes out real chewy. Thanks

Are you baking sandwich type bread?

I make more flavored breads than white bread.

Banana, Zucchini, Pumpkin, Sour Dough, and Beer Bread.

I'd love a really good bread recipe too. Standard yeast type that you knead. I have the worst luck making homemade breads like that!

Here's the one I have used since 1995! This is from a Depression Era cookbook I got for Christmas that year. We use it for cinnamon rolls, buns and bread. It is awesome.

Mother's Everyday Bread
2 cakes yeast (1 cake = 2 1/4 tsp yeast)
1 t sugar
5 c warm water
4 t salt
3/4 c sugar
1/2 c +2 T fat (remember Depression Cookbook) (I use butter--farmer's wife)
About 16 c flour

Dissolve yeast and sugar in 1/2c water; set aside for 10 minutes. Mix together with the yeast the rest of the water, salt, sugar and about 6 c flour. Beat well, then keep adding flour until a stiff dough is formed. Knead well about 10 minutes. Cover, let rise. Punch down, cover, let rise again. Put into greased pans, let rise 1/2 hour, bake at 350 degrees for about 50 minutes. Makes 5-6 loaves --enough for a week if you are lucky! Bake cinnamon rolls about 40 minutes and buns about 20-25 minutes.

Rolls

3/4 c. boiling water
1/4 c. vegtable oil

3/4 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 c. cold water

1/4 c. warm water
2 pkg. yeast

7 to 8 cups of all purpose flour or bread flour


in a saucepan boil the 3/4 c. water, then add the 1/4 c. vegtable oil
In a large bowl mix the sugar ,eggs and the cold water
now add the oil and boiling water mixture to the sugar, egg, and cold water mixture
mix the warm water and yeast in a small bowl and add to the above mixture
add the 7 to 8 cups of flour and knead until well mixed ,you might want to do this on a floured bread board or wax paper. place kneaded dough in a large oiled bowl and let rise until double in size. when dough has risen pinch off your dough in med size pieces and roll into a ball place on greased cookie sheets and let rise until double again. Bake at 425 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes or until brown on top.

note....... If you use rapid rise yeast the rolls will rise faster.


I hope you have success with this recipe it has been in my family for at least 37 years.

Cheryl, at what point is the butter added in the recipe?

And ronbon, do I proof the yeast at any step in the process?

I'm a total bread noob....I've had such rotten luck at making my own so I'm going to try both recipes!

Does anyone have a good bagel recipe?

I never do proof the yeast, but you can tell if the bread will rise because when you mix the yeast with the warm water it will bubble, but when you mix the warm water and the yeast together you can wait a few minutes to see if it will rise, also when you add the yeast mixture to your sugar, water, and egg mixture you should be able to tell if it will rise because it will bubble up. I hope this the answer you was looking for. If you have other questions just ask and I will try to help.

stampinonthefarm makes me gain weight to read that recipe but oh does that bring back memories of the saturdays in grandmas kitchen...and I can almost smell it..no I can smell it..

I'm going to give it a whirl later this afternoon and hopefully I'll finally have luck - thanks!

Hi - Oops, sorry I was offline all last night, 4-H. I add the butter with the first six cups of flour. Yes doubledee4, it is just like my mom used to make when we were kids. Enjoy!

I got this from my favorite recipe site recipe zaar This is VERY easy and you can have fresh bread daily. You can bake this in a loaf pan if you wish. I found that I liked to have it rise longer when the dough was cold out of the fridge. Hope you like it!

Laurie

[font="Century Gothic"]Simple Crusty Bread Recipe #280845
Adapted from “Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day,” by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoë François (Thomas Dunne Books, 2007)
by Cooking202

3¾ hours | 45 min prep

SERVES 64 , 4 loaves

* 1 1/2 tablespoons yeast
* 1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
* 6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, unbleached, more for dusting
* 3 cups lukewarm water (about 110 degrees)
* cornmeal

1. In a large bowl or plastic container, mix yeast and salt into 3 cups lukewarm water (about 100 degrees). Stir in flour, mixing until there are no dry patches. Dough will be quite loose. Cover, but not with an airtight lid. Let dough rise at room temperature 2 hours (or up to 5 hours).
2. Bake at this point or refrigerate, covered, for as long as two weeks. When ready to bake, sprinkle a little flour on dough and cut off a grapefruit-size piece with serrated knife. Turn dough in hands to lightly stretch surface, creating a rounded top and a lumpy bottom. Put dough on pizza peel sprinkled with cornmeal; let rest 40 minutes. Repeat with remaining dough or refrigerate it.
3. Place broiler pan on bottom of oven. Place baking stone on middle rack and turn oven to 450 degrees; heat stone at that temperature for 20 minutes.
4. Dust dough with flour, slash top with serrated or very sharp knife three times. Slide onto stone. Pour one cup hot water into broiler pan and shut oven quickly to trap steam. Bake until well browned, about 30 minutes. Cool completely.
5. Variation: If not using stone, stretch rounded dough into oval and place in a greased, nonstick loaf pan. Let rest 40 minutes if fresh, an extra hour if refrigerated. Heat oven to 450 degrees for 5 minutes. Place pan on middle rack.

© 2007 Recipe zaar. All Rights Reserved.

go to allrecipes.com and try their amish white bread. its a very good sandwich bread.