One rise bread recipe

Oh how I love the smell of fresh bread pulled out of the oven waffling through the house. It’s one of those smells that I didn’t grow up with but I hope that my children will remember it and think of home. I really prefer sourdough bread or soaking my freshly ground wheat to remove phytic acid, but there are just some weeks where it just doesn’t happen or there is a time crunch (like today) where there is no bread in the house and we will need some tomorrow morning to make promised french toast. As I near the last few weeks of my 3rd pregnancy, I’ve been overwhelmed with freezer cooking and an amazing CSA box of produce each week that I have dropped the ball in other areas. 

I love this recipe because from start to finish, I can whip out a loaf or two of bread in 2 hours or less. With sourdough bread, it’s a 2 day process. If you are new to bread making, this is a great 1st recipe to try out! I used instant yeast which is different from active yeast. Also, I use my oven to rise the bread. When I turn my oven light on, the temperature is b/w 100-115 degrees. If yours doesn’t, you can try a few different things. If you have a digital oven, you can put it on the lowest setting which is usually 170F and turn it off as the temperature rises to 115F. Turn your light on then to see if it will help maintain the temp long enough to rise the bread quickly. If you have a stove/oven combo, turn your oven to 350F and set your bread loaves on top of the stove, covered by a tea towel and the heat from the oven below will help to quickly rise your bread on the stove top. In the winter, I’m known for putting my rising bread in a cabinets with a heat vent under it. If you can find a way to get the bread loaves around 100F, they will rise quickly for you.

Ingredients

1. 1 1/2 to 2 cups warm tap water (100-110 degrees) Warm enough when you run the water over the inside of your wrist
2. 1 tbsp of real salt
3. 1/3 c. butter, melted (let cool slightly so it doesn't kill the yeast)
4. 1/3 c. honey
5. 2 tbsp of instant yeast (love instant yeast, no more proofing!)
6. 1 egg
7. 6 cups of flour (I use a 50/50 mix of freshly ground Emmer wheat and King Arthur's unbleached flour)

Instructions

1. Butter generously 2 bread loaf pans and set aside. Turn oven light on. My oven with light warms up to around 110-115 F degrees which is perfect for rising this bread quickly.
2. Mix everything except the flour in a mixer. (Start with 1 1/2 cup of water and then after you add flour, add more water if necessary. I have found the amount of water needed can vary based on what kind of flour I use and if I sift my freshly ground wheat.)
3. Then gradually mix in flour 1 cup at a time.
4. Mix flour until it is well incorporated and scrap sides of bowl if needed.
5. Knead dough in mixer for an additional 10 minutes.
6. Pour dough onto countertop. Divide in two. Form into two loaves and place in your buttered bread pans.
7. Set bread loaves into oven with light on to rise. (After about 1.5 hours, my bread has risen well above the sides. This may vary according to your oven and the temperature with the light on.)
8. Turn oven on to 350 degrees and bake for 35 minutes.
9. Remove bread from oven and from pans. They should fall right out if you buttered the pans well. If not, you might need to use a butter knife gently to release the bread from the sides of the pan.
10. Let cool completely before slicing if you can possibly wait that long.