How to make Homemade Bread

I’ve been married for 6 years… still happy and counting! And I am proud to announce, that I have been using the SAME homemade bread recipe for 2 years!  Now, this might not sound like a big deal… but I went through recipe after recipe trying to find one that was fool proof and perfect.

I thought I had one… but then, my bread would start coming out dense and flat, OR it wouldn’t rise, OR it was too crumbly, OR it used too much white flour OR…. get the picture?

*Updated 8/2020 This post contains affiliate links.  Read my affiliate link disclosure here

Requirements for perfect homemade bread:

• Something I could follow that worked EVERY time… not just 50% of the time
• Basic ingredients without too much “expensive stuff“… I’m frugal, remember?
• Something I could use powder milk with to rotate my food storage supply
• Recipe that allowed me to use as much wheat flour as I wanted without  getting crumbly (since wheat stores longer and is cheaper than white flour).  I hated how homemade bread always crumbles!
• Tasty… husband and kids approved
• not too crumbly.. since most homemade bread has “some” crumbles
• made 3 loafs… so I didn’t have to make it as often

I found this recipe in my Husbands Families “Westwood High School Chef’s Art” cook book.  I adjusted ingredients to fit my specific needs.

ex:  changed milk to powdered milk, butter to oil, decreased white flour and increased wheat, and added wheat gluten to help “stick” the bread together

Here is the recipe you have all been waiting for… and the instructions of course!

Homemade Wheat Bread

Ingredients:

• 3 Tbsp yeast
• 3 1/4 c warm/hot water
• 6 Tbsp powder milk
• 1/2 c oil
• 1/2 c honey
• 7 c wheat flour
• 2 c white flour
• 1 1/3 Tbsp salt
• 2 Tbsp vital wheat gluten (I know you might think this is expensive, but it really isn’t!  You can buy a #10 can for $14.99 at Honeyville.  It will last forever!)

*recipe make 2 large loaf pans, OR 3 medium ones

Instructions:

1. Turn your water on as hot as you can while you get your yeast out of the freezer.  Pour your HOT/warm water into your mixer (love my Bosch!) and add your yeast.  Let sit about 5 min.
2. While waiting for my yeast, grind 4 cups of wheat in my NutriMill Classic Grain Mill– read my review
3.  Add to water and yeast mixture: 4 cups wheat flour, powder milk, oil, honey, salt and wheat gluten.
4.  Then add rest of wheat flour (3 more cups) and mix for 4 minutes.
5. Finally add your white flour.  I usually start with 1 cup, then slowly add the second cup waiting for
   it to mix.  It may need more  or less…
6. You want to make sure it mixes into a nice ball without any dough “sticking” to the bowl… once the dough stops sticking, you have enough flour in it, like the picture to the right.
7. Cover and let sit 15min.  Turn on oven to LOWEST setting (mine is 170 degrees)
8. When the timer goes off, use cooking spray to grease your pans, counter, and hands.  TRUST ME… it’s SO much cleaner than flour!  ALSO…you have the perfect amount of flour in your bread already, separating the dough into loafs on a floured surface will INCREASE your flour, and cause it to be too much!
9. Take the dough out of the bowl, with your greased hands, and split it into your pans
10. Put pans directly into oven, close the door, and TURN OFF the oven
11. Set timer for 25 min.  Let your bread rise uncovered in the oven.  DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR
12.  KEEPING THE DOOR CLOSED, when the timer beeps, turn the oven up to 375 degrees, and set timer for 25-30 min.  Like I mentioned before… DO NOT open the door of your oven!  This causes the bread to fall!  If you are worried about it burning or being over cooked, you may check after 20 min… usually, the bread wont fall since it’s so far into the cooking cycle.
13.  Take bread out when golden brown on top.  Dump bread onto clean cloth and let cool.
14.  Make sure you cut up some warm pieces and add butter or honey!  SO GOOD!

That’s it!  I promise it isn’t as complicated as the 14 steps make it look! I would love to hear how it turned out!

What was your biggest struggle with making homemade bread? Comment below

Further Reading:

100+ Food Storage Recipes

22 Recipes for Powdered Milk

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This post may contain affiliate links.  Read my affiliate link disclosure here