Homemade Bread + Alternatives, Modifications & Grains

Makes 2 loaves

Takes 2 hours (including rise and baking times)

Ingredients:

• Bread Flour / All Purpose Flour / Whole Wheat Flour (amounts will vary based on what flour you're using, I found fresh milled flours take a little more compared to the Kirkland unbleached organic all-purpose flour)

• Water

• Active Dry Yeast

• Salt

• Sugar (Honey seems to make the bread last longer than the raw cane sugar)

• Oil (I prefer avocado oil because of the bake temp)

1. Warm up 2 Cups water. I use a Pyrex measuring cup and microwave it for 2 minutes (or boil in your kettle) but use what you have!

2. In my KitchenAid, I add the water, 1tsp Salt and 2Tbsp [Avocado] oil and 2Tbsps Honey and mix until dissolved.

3. Add 2 Cups of your flour and continue mixing until combined.

4. Add 1Tbsp of your yeast and continue mixing. Your flour mixture should be warm but not hot before your add your yeast to avoid burning it.

5. Add 2-5 more cups of flour. Mix with the dough hook until the dough is forming a ball and is cleaning the sides of the bowl without sticking. Avoid adding too much flour and making the dough too dense to rise and bake properly. Add too little flour and the dough will be wet/sticky and won't rise well either.

6. Remove the dough from the bowl in order to lightly oil the bowl and replace the dough. Cover with a tea towel and let rise for 1 hour. (I sometimes cut this time to 30 minutes if I will be rising for a second time once the loaves are divided.)

7. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

8. Turn out the dough on a clean surface and try not to knead. I divide into 2 parts and place directly into my oiled loaf pans.

9. Let rise in your pans while the over preheats.

10. Bake uncovered for 30-40minutes until the bread starts to turn a light golden brown. Remove from the oven and turn out onto a cool surface/wire racks.

Homemade bread does not last long. Store in an airtight bag and risk growing mold OR store in an open container and the bread will dry out and become hard to eat.

Alternatives

If you're busy, need bulk, don't have the time or need something a little more shelf stable for long trips, we buy Dave's Organic because it's generally easy to find and I don't mind the ingredients list.

Product List

If you're just getting into making your own bread, you do NOT need a bunch of fancy gadgets but I would consider glass bread pans. Any mixing bowl and your hands work just fine! When I used to work for a commercial fishery here in Alaska, we made all of the food for the crew from scratch and all of the bread was mixed and kneaded by hand. Keep it simple!

I like glass bread pans because they last, they distribute the heat well, they clean easy and we know they won't leech any weird chemicals or breakdown into your food. I've had my bread pans for almost a decade already and they still feel like new.

For anyone wanting to know what I use after accumulating new gadgets over the years, here's my list.

• KitchenAid Mixer - worth it's weight in GOLD in this house.

• Glass Bread Pans

• Grain Mill (This is fairly new but I LOVE it. I really do not like reaching for any flour products any more unless I absolutely have to or the kids are sleeping since it is a little loud)

• Organic Einkorn or Organic Spelt (I've had the best luck with these) or if you're a Costco fan like me, Kirkland's Organic Unbleached All-Purpose Flour works just fine!

• Chosen Foods Avocado Oil Spray (It's Glyphosate free!)

• Raw, Unfiltered Honey - I would encourage you to support local with your honey. Royal Alaska Honey in South Central Alaska can be found in Natural Pantry or All About Herbs in Wasilla. I believe they are also at most farm stands in the summer months as well.

• Sea Salt - The OG that seems to always come back into trend after pink salts were found to have more heavy metals due to where and how they are mined. Support local and try Alaska Salt Co. Sea Salt if you have the chance.

Modifications

I have used some variation of this recipe to make

• Pizza (add garlic and Italian seasoning with the water)

• Calzones

• French Bread (Use less flour + more sugar and bake in long rolls on a sheet pan)

• Seed Bread (Add in or roll in before baking)

• Bread Bowls for Soup (Form in round loaves on a bread sheet and bake hotter (400-425F for 30mins with water splashed on the bottom of the oven at 20mins to form a harder crust)