Alright, I picked up a loaf pan and want to learn how to make bread.  Now, so far I've made beer bread before that came out okay and pizza dough probably 20+ times so baking isn't new to me.  Now though I want to learn how to make bread without beer and obviously pizza dough isn't the right recipe.  

Anyone have any recipes I can try out?

my quick one is

pick a cup and stick with it so forget the scales .

3 cups strong white flour
1 1/2 teaspoons of salt
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
2x 6g sachets dried yeast
1 and 1/3 cups ( 300ml ) of warm water

mix it , let it rise and knock it down .
place in your tin for the second rise the into the oven on 200 for about 20 mins

it is a bit basic but it is good and quick
john.

Here is a great recipe I use all the time.
 
1 package of yeast
3/4 cup water
3Tbsp sugar
1/2 cup of smooth left over mashed potatoes
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup of butter flavored crisco
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
 
mix wet ingredients then add dry,  dough will be sticky, dump it on the counter and slowly knead in additional flour (about 2 -3 Tbsp at a time) until dough becomes smooth and stretchy. cover and let rise 45 min. punch down and form a loaf. A good way too avoid large air holes in the bread is to press it fairly flat and roll it up tightly then tuck the ends under and place seam side down in loaf greased loaf pan. let rise again until doubled in size and bake at 375 until golden brown. To test for readiness carefully dump out loaf and tap it gently on the bottom. If it sounds slightly hollow it should be done.  Good luck. Also if you don't have mashed potatoes handy leave them out and add an additional 1/4 cup of water instead.

Check out this book - Old West Baking Book by Lon Walters.

GL

If you're looking for a 100% whole wheat recipe and if you grind your own wheat, you can't go wrong with this recipe.

The recipe is for a machine but I do everything by hand and it comes out great.  I usually double the recipe because if you're going to make one loaf, you might as well make two.

Two loaf ingredients:

2 packages yeast
1 cup lukewarm water
------------------------------
6 cups whole wheat flour (have 1.5 - 2 cups extra flour for kneeding, so 7.5 - 8 total)
2 teaspoon salt
------------------------------
1 cup milk, scalded and cooled to lukewarm
4 tablespoons honey
4 tablespoons oil ( I use 4 tbsp of melted butter instead of oil ) YUM
4 eggs

I have a few other minor mods to the recipe.  When I make the yeast sponge, I add a little sugar (about 1 tsp) and about 1 tbsp of flour to the water.  It gets the yeast going pretty well.

First, scald your milk and put it in the refrig to cool down until it is lukewarm.  I put the flour and salt in a big mixing bowl, hold the honey for now.  To your lukewarm milk add your eggs, honey, melted butter and stir well.  Then add this liquid mixture with the yeast to the mixing bowl and stir well until it is time to work with your hands.  Kneed at least TEN minutes, forget what the recipe says.  Kneeding a double batch takes a little work but it is good for you.  When you roll it out in to a rectangle, shoot for 18"x12" in size and then cut in half to produce two 9"x12" rectangles.  Follow the rest of the directions in the link.  Don't forget to lightly grease your bread pans with some more nice creamy butter.

I'm telling you when you grinid your own wheat, this is the best wheat bread you've ever tasted.  Don't be afraid to grind it just a tad courser than the store bought stuff.  It really adds a nice texture to the bread.  If you're using hard red wheat like I do, the bread has a very nice nutty flavor to it.  

Dig into that first loaf while it is still warm.  This bread makes excellent toast too.  After the bread has completely cooled, place the 2nd loaf in a freezer bag and freeze for later, unless you have a really large family.  Remember your from scratch bread doesn't have any preservatives, so it can't sit for days on end without spoiling.

Good luck.

Quoted: Bread is ridiculously easy to make.  We rarely buy store bread anymore.  I make this weekly with home ground wheat flour.  Everyone I work with and all of my family always want loaves.   5-6 cups whole wheat flour (or 3 cups whole wheat flour and 2-3 cups bread flour) Two 1/4 oz packages of dry yeast 2/3 C honey 1/4 C vegetable oil 2 C warm water (135F) Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup warm water in a large bowl.  Allow to proof until yeast is dissolved and "foamy".  Stir in honey, oil, remaining water and 3 cups wheat flour.  Mix until smooth.  Stir in enough remaining flour to make dough easy to handle.  Knead 10 minutes until smooth and elastic.  Place in greased bowl, cover with towel and let rise until double in size. Punch down and divide in half.  Flatten into a rectangle and roll to form a loaf.  Place in 2 greased 9 inch loaf pans.  Allow to rise to top of pan.  Slice top of loaf about 1/2" deep and pour melted butter down top.   Bake on low oven rack at 375F for 20-30 minutes. If you're not used to eating lots of whole wheat I would recommend using some bread flour.  If using all whole wheat flour the loaf will be more dense than you're used to.  Sometimes I'll let it rise twice before proofing to get a 'lighter' loaf.

I made bread from this site link a few nights ago, but that loaf is now gone so I'm trying your recipe out tonight.  Hopefully it comes outs well since I always have the ingredients you listed on hand.  

Quoted: Bread is ridiculously easy to make.  We rarely buy store bread anymore.  I make this weekly with home ground wheat flour.  Everyone I work with and all of my family always want loaves.   5-6 cups whole wheat flour (or 3 cups whole wheat flour and 2-3 cups bread flour) Two 1/4 oz packages of dry yeast 2/3 C honey 1/4 C vegetable oil 2 C warm water (135F) Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup warm water in a large bowl.  Allow to proof until yeast is dissolved and "foamy".  Stir in honey, oil, remaining water and 3 cups wheat flour.  Mix until smooth.  Stir in enough remaining flour to make dough easy to handle.  Knead 10 minutes until smooth and elastic.  Place in greased bowl, cover with towel and let rise until double in size. Punch down and divide in half.  Flatten into a rectangle and roll to form a loaf.  Place in 2 greased 9 inch loaf pans.  Allow to rise to top of pan.  Slice top of loaf about 1/2" deep and pour melted butter down top.   Bake on low oven rack at 375F for 20-30 minutes. If you're not used to eating lots of whole wheat I would recommend using some bread flour.  If using all whole wheat flour the loaf will be more dense than you're used to.  Sometimes I'll let it rise twice before proofing to get a 'lighter' loaf.

Trying this one tonight. Rising in the pans now. Will post an AAR in about an hour.

Looks awesome. Smells awesome. You can smell the honey. I just need to let these puppies cool off so I can put them in ziplocks for morning.

Not to hijack, but can we just get a tacked thread on bread at the top?  Seems like it comes up quite a bit.  Would be nice to have some info readily available for all those that are looking.

BTW The Bread Bakers Apprentice is a great book for learning about bread baking.  It helped me a ton and now I make some killer bread.

I can't wait for Fall to try out some of these recipes!  Right now it's so hot outside I don't like to run the oven.

Oh yeah, the follow up...

Loaf #1 was a titch underdone in the very center. I did them for 23 minutes, tented w/ foil for about the last 8 or so minutes. Loaf #2 didn't have the underdone issue, so I think it was pretty darn close. Maybe 25-26 minutes next time.

I think I might let them rise a little bit more next time as well. They were a tad dense, but n account of me coming up with the "Hey, I'm gonna bake bread" idea at 10pm, I had them in the oven as soon as they has risen over the edge so I could get done and get to bed.

The honey smell was awesome, but the honey taste was maybe a bit strong. I think I might step the honey back a bit, although it was flat out AWESOME as buttered toast with the honey.

But yeah, I give the recipe a thumbs up.

Quoted:

Well?????????

I'm new at bread making and have been throwing most of it away since I started trying to make bread.  Your recipe worked out real well.  Best I have ever made.  Maybe a little less honey and add a little sugar and a pinch of salt to see hoe it pans out.  We ate 2 loaves a day for the first 2 days I was baking.  Starting to add more whole wheat and less white flour as we go.  I am now up to your 3/2 recipe you posted.  Thanks.

You guys rule!!  This stuff is the best tasting bread ever!  

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Well????????? I'm new at bread making and have been throwing most of it away since I started trying to make bread.  Your recipe worked out real well.  Best I have ever made.  Maybe a little less honey and add a little sugar and a pinch of salt to see hoe it pans out.  We ate 2 loaves a day for the first 2 days I was baking.  Starting to add more whole wheat and less white flour as we go.  I am now up to your 3/2 recipe you posted.  Thanks. Glad it's working out.  I started with a basic white bread recipe and have been playing with it to make different kinds of breads.  I enjoy baking bread.  Once you have the basics down it's pretty much idiot proof and you can play with the recipes or make your own. I tried a stuffed focaccia bread a few weeks ago that turned out horribly.  Not quite sure where I went wrong with that one. I also have a Portuguese corn bread that goes really well for dipping in soups.  It's a kind of peasant bread that varies quite a bit by region.

The best part about screwing up is that usually it pisses you off so bad that you want to remake it and redeam yourself, until you get it right. My first loaf of sourdough tasted about as bland a air. The next was the best I have ever tasted. Been great ever since.

tag.

I have used the Sullivan St. Bakery (NYC) / Mark Bittman's  "no-knead" bread recipe quite a lot, and my family and I love it.

Check it out ...

No-Knead Bread

Quoted: I have used the Sullivan St. Bakery (NYC) / Mark Bittman's  "no-knead" bread recipe quite a lot, and my family and I love it. Check it out ... No-Knead Bread

Alton Brown did the exact same recipie on his dutch oven show, this bread turns out great and it is dead simple.

Quoted: I have used the Sullivan St. Bakery (NYC) / Mark Bittman's  "no-knead" bread recipe quite a lot, and my family and I love it. Check it out ... No-Knead Bread

I can't watch youtube at work... is that recipe the same as this one?

No-Knead Bread

Just for giggles I tried this recipe this weekend.  While it is messy to make - the dough was quite wet and hard to handle - this is some of the best bread I've made without using a bread machine.  The only problem is that less than 24 hours after making the loaf, it was GONE.  The hubby and kid loved it.

I also have some wheat flour and rye flour, and will substitute some of the wheat flour for the all-purpose white flour when I give it another go this weekend.

Yep ... same one.  

Quoted: my quick one is pick a cup and stick with it so forget the scales . 3 cups strong white flour 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar 2x 6g sachets dried yeast 1 and 1/3 cups ( 300ml ) of warm water mix it , let it rise and knock it down . place in your tin for the second rise the into the oven on 200 for about 20 mins it is a bit basic but it is good and quick john.

Ok so i made my first ever loaf of bread.  Used the above Receipe.  
mixed it

then Rise this pic was before, it rose to almost 3/4 of the bowl filled

Then Rise in Pan Filled pan to just to the top after rising

Then we Cooked

Now who's in for a taste


Conclusions / Questions
It was very easy to make.  This was my first time trying.
Its a little Dense for me,  If i let it rise longer will it "lighten up" Set for 1-1/2 hrs each time to rise, at about 85  outside on screen porch.  Nice cool day today.  
It was a little Doughy tasting,  was that due to it being "dense"? Or can i add something to it to do that.  Thanks for the Info.  Now to try the other one.  

Awwww. damn I was up at midnight cause I was bored making some just like that.  I should of took pictures.

Mine was 2 3/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 packet of yeast

let it rise 10 minutes.
knock down and roll it up.  Put in pan and let it rise for an hour.

30 minutes at 375




Mine was really dense like leoismydog
too. hmmm.. how do you lighten it up?  Tasted like french bread but denser.   I'll take a pic of what's left.



*edit* added pic

Just mixed a batch up of this one,  will post a pic after cooked.  Its outback style bread.  
Ingredients:
· 3 packages dry yeast
· 1/2 cup warm water
· 1 Tablespoon sugar                         Mabey Use Brown Sugar
· 1 cup warm water
· 1/2 cup dark molasses                     Mabey ¼ molasses and ¼ honey
· 1 Tablespoon salt
· 2 Tablespoons oil
· 2 cups rye flour
· 2-1/2 to 3 cups all-purpose flour      MABEY ADD 1 Tbl’s Cocca,  
Preparation:
Soften yeast in 1/2 cup warm water. Stir in sugar. Let stand 6 minutes or till bubbly.

Meanwhile in large mixing bowl combine 1 cup warm water with molasses, salt, oil, and rye flour. Beat to smooth batter. Add yeast water mixture, stirring to combine.

Work in all-purpose flour till dough is smooth and no longer sticky, very pliable and elastic. Knead a few minutes. Let rise till doubled in greased bowl. Punch down.

Shape into 2 large round loaves placed a few inches apart on greased and cornmeal dusted cookie sheet or fill 6 mini foil loaf pans, greased and dusted in cornmeal, with the dough, dividing it evenly between these little pans.

Either way let loaves rise till doubled in warm place. Bake large loaves 375 degrees F. about 30 minutes or till crust makes hollow sound when tapped with knuckles. For tiny loaves place pans on dry ungreased cookie sheets, a few inches apart. When doubled in size, bake at 375 degrees F. for 20 minutes.

Quoted: Awwww. damn I was up at midnight cause I was bored making some just like that.  I should of took pictures. Mine was 2 3/4 cup flour 1 teaspoon sugar 1 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 packet of yeast let it rise 10 minutes. knock down and roll it up.  Put in pan and let it rise for an hour. 30 minutes at 375 Mine was really dense like leoismydog too. hmmm.. how do you lighten it up?  Tasted like french bread but denser.   I'll take a pic of what's left. farm4.static.flickr.com/3250/2783782115_df53236ce9.jpg *edit* added pic

how much water did you use?  1 cup?

i did a pretty good thread here www.ablesentry.oregonshooter.com/index.php?option=com_fireboard&Itemid=22&func=view&id=336&catid=18 about makin gread after grinding my own grain too.