Homemade simple yeast bread a How to blog

OM NOM NOM.. I love Home baked bread.. nothing in the world like it, and since I made homemade lasagna today, decided to bake some fresh bread to go with it.

I decided to show you guys step by step via pictures and words what I did.. and stuff.. but first you need the ingredients!!!!

5 Cups Flour *I used Bread but AP works fine as well. *
1 package of yeast or 1 Tbsp. *I used Quick rise but any will do*
2 Cups WARM water. NOT HOT.. Warm
1 Tsp Sugar
1 Tsp Salt * I used my own hand ground pink himalayan.
2 Tbsp oil of your choice *I used safflower
Cornmeal * Optional but I never make bread without it.
and also Optional is a Flour sack Tea Towel.

Alright.. got everything Gathered? yeah you do! awesome.. Okay Add the sugar to your warm water and stir it in until it completely dissolves.. Now add your Yeast and stir it in, when it is done it should look like this

see the light froth on top.. after about 10 minutes that froth will turn thicker like this

This is how your yeast showed you PROOF that it is alive, hence the name Proofing..  Okay at this point you will add your salt to the water along with 1 cup of flour and mix it up, it will look like this.  

Okay for the next step I wisely in my opinion abandoned the whisk, because you will be adding 1 Tbsp of your Oil, and 2 more cups of flour. Mix well until it forms a solid sticky dough.

Alright.. has your sticky dough formed? Now for the part where it gets Messy but fun.. Lay out your tea towel on a table.. or if you want a big mess to clean up just apply straight to your table.. two cups of flour, and Dump your sticky bread dough right in the center of it.. I will also show why I use a tea towel in the next couple of steps. 

Now to fold the dough over and knead it without getting your hands super sticky and gross. 

ignore the bruise on my hand and wrist, that was from a failed attempt at an IV at the doctor's office. 

 Basically you Roll half your dough over on to itself with the towel and push down, then you open it up and do it from a different direction.. do that until the bread is no longer sticky and then to it with your hands kneading and punching down the dough. 

 If it gets sticky just repeat the folding steps, DO NOT over Knead your dough.. that mans more than 10 minutes, it should spring back lightly when you push in to it, and then its good, form your dough in to a ball and then add 1 tbsp to the bowl you had your dough in before, and that if you were smart you scraped out REALLY well.

I added a bit too much but no worries there.  now add your dough in to the oil and make sure that it is COMPLETELY Coated in oil, empty the powder remnants of your tea towel and the flour that didn't get incorporated in to the trash, and then if you do like me, take it outside and snap it a few times.. just to get the majority of the flour off..  Take said tea towel, and Cover the bowel.. I would suggest moistening the towel first.. JUST BARELY DAMP not soaking, I didnt with the first rise and I regretted it.

so thats the bread dough all nice and covered in oil, then covered with the tea towel. 

Let this rise.. for at least I would say an Hour

after it has lay the tea towel back down and sprinkle lightly with flour just so your newly risen bread dough does not stick.  Now Dump your dough ON to said tea towel and smack it down

I did a bit more light kneading and then repeated the last step,  

I then Cut the dough ball into two halves and put it in my Long loaf pan, That I had sprayed with olive oil and sprinkled my Corn meal lightly on the bottom of, though you can put it in two loaf pans, Smack it down, smash it in to the pan basically, though hopefully you do a prettier job that I did, and then cover it again to rise IN the pan. 

let it get NICE and tall.. before you bake.. 

BAKE TIME.. you want to set your stove for 350, and LET IT HEAT UP! that part is kind of important.. for the rise in the pan as you can see I set the bread on top of my stove and let the heat of the oven pre-heating help it rise..

Pop your pan in to the middle of your oven or pans if you used two.. and cook for 30 - 35 minutes until your bread is golden brown and sounds hollow when you tap on it.

Notice its on a tea towel? Its also on a cooling rack, I wrap my fresh baked still hot bread in a clean fresh tea towel after taking it out of the pan to cool, so that the moisture in the bread actually softens the crust.

Let the Bread cool off for at least 20-30 minutes, slice and enjoy!

I hope that this was easy to read and understand, if you have any questions please ask in the comments, and if you make it yourself please share pictures I would love to see what you make!