My "Go To" Bread Recipe (and tutorial)

Okay this recipe is using whole wheat flour but really you can substitute it with all white flour or even spelt if you want.  This is my very basic recipe, and it's also the recipe that I often deviate from.  Sometimes I do half whole wheat, half white, sometimes I add a 1/4 cup of ground flax, sometimes I add protein powder, and every time the bread turns out.  I love having my own basic recipe in which I can make so many different kinds of bread.

So here we go!

The Recipe:

1 cup warm water

2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast

2 tbsp butter

1 egg

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp sugar

approximately 3 cups of flour

Step 1:  Sprinkle the yeast over your warm cup of water and let dissolve and proof for 10 minutes

It should look like this at the beginning of the 10 minutes:

 And like this at the end:

Step 2: Melt your 2 tbsp of butter, or use already soft room temperature butter.  Add the butter to your mixing bowl (I use a Kitchen Aid Mixer)

Step 3: Add your sugar to the bowl

Step 4: And the salt

Step 5: Whisk up your egg and add that to the mixing bowl too

Step 6:  Add the proofed yeast and water to the mixing bowl and using the paddle attachment (or a spoon if you're doing it by hand) mix it all together

Step 7: Add 2 cups of flour to the bowl and mix it until uniform

It should look like this once it's fully mixed:

Step 8: Switch to the dough hook (or dump the dough out onto the counter and knead with your hands) and add one more cup of flour.  Let the mixer knead until you have a decent ball of dough.  You may need to add more flour.  You want your dough to be uniform and sticky, not too dry or your bread will be heavy.

Step 9: Grease a bowl and roll the dough in the ball so it's greased all over and cover it with a damp towel.

Step 10: Leave your dough to rise and rest for at least an hour or until it has doubled.

Step 11: Grease a bread pan and shape your dough into a rectangle and place it in the pan.  Cover it with a damp cloth again and let it rise till it's just above the pan line.

It's ready for the oven when it looks like this:

Step 12:  Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until it's golden brown all over.

And there you go!  A fresh loaf of bread!

For more tips on baking bread see this post:  A Few Tips on Baking Bread