5 Bread Recipes To Make Your Own Bread
We eat bread every day of our lives, sometimes without knowing it. Bread comes in many different types, bagels, English muffins, biscuits, and so on. Let’s dive into five super easy recipes to make your own bread!
1. Homemade Biscuits
Biscuits are light and fluffy and easy to make. Try the bread recipes for biscuits and enjoy.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups of all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon of baking powder
- 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 6 tablespoons of unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup of whole milk
Steps:
1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Set aside. Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a large bowl and mix well. Set aside.
2. Remove the butter from the refrigerator and cut it into your flour mixture using a pastry cutter. Mix until it forms coarse crumbs. Add milk, use a wooden spoon or spatula to stir until combined.
3. Transfer your biscuit dough to a well-floured surface, and use your hands to gently work the dough together. If the dough is too sticky, add flour until the dough is manageable. Once the dough is cohesive, fold in half over itself and use your hands to gently flatten the layers together.
4. Use your hands to flatten the dough to 1 -inch thick, and lightly dust a 2 3/4-inch round biscuit cutter with flour. Making close cuts, press the biscuit cutter straight down into the dough and drop the biscuit onto your prepared baking sheet.
5. Repeat until you have as many biscuits as possible, and place them less than 1/2-inch apart on the baking sheet. Once you have gotten as many biscuits as possible out of the dough, rework the dough until you have gotten another biscuit or two, until you have at least 6.
6. Bake at 425 for about 12 minutes, or until the tops are just lightly golden brown. If desired, brush with melted salted butter immediately after removing it from the oven. Serve warm.
2. Bagels
Bagels are a great way to start your day. Use the bread recipes to make your own bagels and enjoy!
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups of warm water
- 2 3/4 teaspoons of instant or active dry yeast
- 4 cups of bread flour
- 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons of salt
- Nonstick spray or 2 teaspoons of olive oil
- 1 egg white beaten with 1 tablespoon of water
For Boiling:
- 2 quarts of water
- 1/4 cup of honey
Steps:
1. Whisk the warm water and yeast together in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. Cover and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Add the flour, sugar, and salt. Beat on low speed for 2 minutes. The dough is very stiff and will look dry.
2. Turn the dough out on a lightly floured surface. With lightly floured hands, knead the dough for 4-5 minutes. Lightly grease a large bowl with nonstick spray or oil. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it to coat all sides in the oil. Cover the bowl with aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or a kitchen towel.
3. Allow the dough to rise at room temperature for 60-90 minutes or until double in size. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
4. When the dough is ready, punch it down to release any air bubbles. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a ball. Press your index finger through the center of each ball to make a hole about 1 1/2 to 2 inches wide. Loosely cover the bagels with the kitchen towel and let them rest for a few minutes.
5. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
6. Fill a large, wide pot with 2 quarts of water. Whisk in the honey. Bring the water to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-high. Drop the bagels in, 2-4 at a time, making sure they have enough room to float around. Cook the bagels for 1 minute on each side.
7. Using a pastry brush, brush the egg white on top and around the sides of each bagel. Place 4 bagels onto each lined baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. You want the bagels to be dark golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow the bagels to cool on the baking sheets for 20 minutes. Then transfer them to a wire rack to allow them to cool completely.
8. Slice, toast, top, do whatever you want! Cover leftover bagels tightly and store them at room temperature for a few days or in the refrigerator for up to a week.
3. English Muffins
English muffins are great to put in the toaster and have breakfast with. Use the bread recipes to make your own and enjoy!
Ingredients:
- 2 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon of instant yeast
- 1/4 teaspoon of salt
- 2/3 cups of milk
- 1/2 cup of water
- 1 tablespoon of butter
Steps:
1. In a medium bowl, add yeast, flour, and salt. Mix them together briefly. In a separate bowl, add milk, water, and butter. Put it in the microwave for 15-30 seconds, or until it is lukewarm and the butter has melted. Try not to let it get too hot.
2. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until you form a dough. The dough will be quite soft and a little sticky. Once the dough has come together, just scrape down the sides of the bowl and cover tightly with cling wrap and a clean kitchen towel. Let it sit at room temperature for at least 12-18 hours.
3. The dough will have doubled in size. Turn it out onto a floured surface. Cover with cling wrap and a kitchen towel and let it sit for just 10 minutes. Now you can roll it to just over an inch in thickness.Â
4. Using a 3-inch cookie cutter dusted in flour, cut out rounds and transfer them to another baking tray lined with parchment paper. Any scraps can be rerolled and made into another muffin. Cover the muffins with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let them rest for about 40-45 minutes. After 45 minutes, the dough circles will have puffed up a little and you can proceed to cook them.
5. Heat a large, nonstick frying pan over a steady, medium to medium-low heat. Using a flat spatula, carefully move the English muffins onto the nonstick frying pan and cover with a lid.
6. Leave at least two inches between each muffin. Take extra care when moving your muffins to avoid compressing the dough and knocking out the bubbles. Cook on this side for 6-7 minutes. The steam created with the lid on will help the muffins rise and cook through fully.
7. Flip over and cook on the other side for another 3-4 minutes. Set the muffins aside to cool down before eating them fresh. These muffins also toast up really well. Store for four days at room temperature or freeze for up to 8 weeks.
4. White Bread
This can be eaten with anything and for any meal. Try the bread recipes and enjoy!
Ingredients:
- 4 1/2 teaspoons of instant yeast
- 3/4 cup + 2 2/3 cups of warm water, divided
- 1/4 cup of granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon of salt
- 3 tablespoons of butter, cubed, at room temperature
- 9 to 10 cups of all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter, melted, for brushing
Steps:
1. In the bowl of a mixer, stir to dissolve the yeast in 3/4 cup of warm water, and let it sit for 5 minutes. Add the remaining water, sugar, salt, room temperature butter, and 5 cups of the flour and stir to combine.
2. Using a dough hook, mix at low speed and gradually add the remaining flour until the dough is soft and tacky, but not sticky. Continue to knead until a soft ball of dough forms and clears the sides of the bowl, about 7-10 minutes.Â
3. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl and turn it over so it is completely coated. Cover with plastic wrap and set in a draft-free place to rise until doubled in size, about 45 minutes to an hour.Â
4. Turn the dough out onto a clean, lightly floured surface. Gently press it all over to remove any air pockets. Divide the dough in two and, working with one piece at a time, gently pat it into a 9×12-inch rectangle. Roll up the rectangle, starting on the short end, into a very tight cylinder. Pinch to seal the seams and the ends, tuck the ends of the roll until the bread, and place into greased 9-inch loaf pans. Cover the loaves loosely and place in a draft-free area until doubled in size, about 30 to 45 minutes.
5. Position an oven rack to the lowest position and preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Brush the loaves with some of the melted butter. Bake the loaves for 30-35 minutes, rotating halfway through, until golden brown.
6. Remove from the oven and immediately brush with some more of the melted butter. Allow to cool for 1o minutes, then remove from the pans and cool completely before cutting. The bread can be stored in an airtight bread bag or wrapped tightly in plastic wrap for up to 4 days, or it can be frozen for up to a month.
5. Cornbread Muffins
Cornbread is amazing, and making it into muffins is even better. The bread recipes for this are out of this world!
Ingredients:
- 1 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup of yellow cornmeal
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of sugar
- 1 tablespoon of baking powder
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons of honey
- 3/4 cup of whole milk
- 1 stick of unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Steps:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a medium bowl, break up the eggs with a whisk. Whisk in the honey and then the milk. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the milk mixture and the melted butter to the dry ingredients. Whisk until just blended.
4. Spoon the batter evenly into the prepared muffin tin, filling each cup about 3/4 of the way full. Bake for 17 to 20 minutes or until the tops are set and golden. Cool the muffins for a few minutes in the pan, and then serve them warm.
