Thursday, January 13, 2011

Miracle Bread

Ready to dive into bread baking? 


This recipe is the first bread I made when I was nine or ten years old. It really is simple and needs no kneading. I remember how pleased I was to have baked bread myself. 



The recipe for this bread was given to my mom years ago by a woman who worked in an inner city mission. As she encouraged city ladies and taught them homemaking skills, this is one of the recipes she used. They would roll the dough with a soda bottle since they didn't own a rolling pin!

There isn't anything particularly "miraculous" about it, so don't worry if you aren't feeling very wonder-working! But if you have never made bread, pulling a fragrant loaf of homemade bread from the oven, can truly seem like a miracle.

The dough can be used in a variety of ways. I'll demonstrate a long French type loaf, perfect for garlic bread. But you can put this dough in loaf pans or even make cinnamon rolls with it.

Miracle Bread

1/2 cup warm water
2 T  yeast
2 T sugar or honey

Mix together and allow the yeast to dissolve for a few minutes.


2 cups warm water
2 T melted butter or oil
2 tsp salt

Combine with yeast water.

6-7 cups flour

Mix in six cups of flour. Stir well by hand or mixer equipped with dough hook. If dough is too sticky, add a little more flour.

Form into a ball. Place in greased bowl and roll dough to grease the top of the dough.
Let rise for 30 to 60 minutes at room temperature. It should expand to double it's size.
Divide dough in half and roll out as you would pie dough.
Roll up as a jelly roll. Place it on a greased baking sheet.
Make diagonal slits across the top with a sharp knife.
Do the same with second ball of dough. Let rise about 1 hour or until double in size.
Beat 1 egg and 2 T milk. Brush egg mixture over top of bread.
Sprinkle with sesame seeds or poppy seeds.
Bake at 425 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes. Try to let it cool before cutting into the loaf! Bet you can't! This bread is awesome with butter and a sprinkle of garlic powder!


43 comments :

  1. Wonderful! I have a similar recipe and it is really good. I should let my 11 year old try this recipe, she likes to make a recipe for sweet french bread.

    Thanks!

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  2. This looks yummy! There is nothing like the smell of homemade bread drifting through your home. Thanks for sharing this tutorial!

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  3. Excellent bread too. Thanks for reminding me of this recipe. Enjoying your tutorial on breadmaking.

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  4. I am having the most difficult time getting my bread to rise. It tastes GOOD, but looks more like biscotti then bread! I think my kitchen is too cold. There are 2 windows & a door (all glass. So I figure I'll either have to bring it to work to rise or wait unitl it warms up over freezing here in TN.

    I love seeing your recipes & directions. It gives me (a novice) hope for better food creations.

    Sam

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    Replies
    1. I sometimes have that problem too. When that happens I either fill the sink with hot water and float the bowl or I run a load of laundry in the dryer and let the bread rise on top.

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    2. Try placing it on your stovetop when your overheating you oven. I have also turned my oven on for 5 mins then turned it back off and let the dough rise inside with the oven door cracked open

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  5. Oh my goodness! I just pulled two beautiful loaves of french bread out of my oven. My family thanks for posting this recipe! YUM!

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  6. Thank you for the recipe. We love homemade bread and I always enjoy trying new recipes. Your loaves look delicious.

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  7. so how does that work then? I'll be trying this one.
    :o)

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  8. I'm going to try this recipe, Gina!
    Very similar to the bread I posted today (great minds, and all that...).

    -Jami
    An Oregon Cottage

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  9. Ok so I made this with the boys this morning.. the only part that went wrong was going out for a walk, taking an impromptu stop at a friend's house for too long, then getting locked out. So the dough rose and rose and flopped. I baked it anyway and had very very yummy tasting very flat bread.

    I might do it again when we have friends over HERE. :o)

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  10. if you want to use a loaf tin or make another shape do you still roll out the dough? or just divide and shape as for normal bread?

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  11. We will definetely be trying this recipe today.:)Thank you for syep by step pics as well.I cannot wait to get started.

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  12. Thank you so much for the recipe for this bread.I have made it three times since Saturday.The batch I made this morning I made into cinnamon rolls and they turned out perfect.:)Thanks again for the recipe.~Nikki

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  13. Hello there, I made your bread this weekend for the first time. It is only my 3rd time making bread. The two other times I tried where 2years ago 1 was a total flop and one wasn't so bad but not great. This time it turned out good enough to eat. Yeh! However I now realize why it didn't rise as nicely
    1. only used one TB of yeast instead of two. Printer cut off the yeast amount part.

    2. I didn't alow for the 2nd rising was late at night. Does that really make a huge difference?

    When making it in regular loaf pans instead of cookie sheet method do you need to adjust the time and temp used?

    Other than a few tweks I like the bread. Please answer my questions I am such a beginner. Thanks

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  14. Thanks so much to all you who have tried this recipe and shared your experience. I love that we can learn from each other - and it helps me know how to better write a recipe!

    Suzi -
    If you ever have it happen again that your bread rises, then flops, you may try rolling it out and shaping it again and allowing it to rise again. It may not do as well but it may be salvageable. Another trick I've used when I've had to leave is put the dough in the fridge. It will slow down the rising time and should be okay even if it is the next day before you get to baking it.

    Margo -
    For other kinds of bread (such as in a bread pan) you can shape however you want. I showed only one way of the many possibilities.

    Anonymous- So glad you had the courage to try again! I'll try to answer your questions - and feel free to ask any others that come to mind! I think a second rise improves the bread. If you only have time for one rise, shape the dough into your loaf shape immediately after mixing. Allow it to rise on the pan and then bake. You can also use the fridge trick that I shared above if you are short on time. If baking in a bread pan, you could use the same heat or lower it slightly to 375 degrees and bake for a longer amount of time. The exact time will depend upon the type of pan (glass, metal) and how much dough each loaf contains. You don't want to fill your loaf pans more than half full of dough to give room for rising.

    Hope that helps!
    Happy Baking!
    Gina

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  15. I made the bread and I loved it!! I halved the recipe and it turned out awesome! I loved the fact that I didn't have to knead it and the texture was still beautiful! It makes wonderful garlic toast.

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  16. Gina,

    I made this bread yesterday and it turned out so well! I've been baking bread for years, so I don't really qualify as a beginner (although I still have my share of flops!) but I was so pleased with this recipe. I plan to use it to teach my 9-year-old and 7-year-old granddaughters to bake bread. They are both adept in the kitchen but have never tried bread from start to finish. I know they can do this and it will be such a feeling of accomplishment for them.

    Thanks so much for sharing!

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  17. Gina,

    I loved this bread! It was so easy to make and best of all it was yummy! I never made bread before and have always wanted to try it. Thank you for your recipe and for giving me the confidence to make it. Next I am trying the white country loaf. I really enjoy reading your blog.

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  18. Gina, I know you use freshly ground flour sometimes. Did you use that for this recipe? It looks like it might not be. I am looking to broaden my scopes of what I am making with freshly ground and this recipe looks great. :) I have red and white hard, as well as soft white to choose from.

    Thanks for your help!
    Angela

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  19. Angela -
    The day I was taking these photos, I used only white flour since I wanted a super simple recipe for a beginner to try. Usually, I substitute about half of the flour for my freshly ground white wheat flour. I use just slightly less flour but otherwise the recipe is just the same. We prefer whole grains since that is what we usually eat and we like this bread with half wheat.
    Gina

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  20. Thank-you, Gina, for sharing all these wonderful recipes, as you do, on your blog! :)

    I make everything from scratch but sometimes my creativity is lacking! I love how this bread is long with slits in it! It looks great! :)

    Warmly,
    Katy :)

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  21. I'm trying this tonight the dough is rising now...I want to make rolls with it

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  22. This turned out soooo good! I made 12 rolls (good sandwich size too) and a loaf of bread and oh man this is the best bread I have EVER made...it was so easy and it tastes sooo good. I LOVE IT! Thank you so so so so so much for sharing!

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  23. I know this is an old post, but I have to leave a comment to say how fantastic this bread turned out! It is BEAUTIFUL and definitely delicious, plus I didn't have to kill my arms kneading. My husband is going to be so happy to see these loaves on the counter when he gets home! Thank you for sharing this. :)

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  24. Hi Gina, question for your bread recipe...can you either freeze the dough or a baked loaf? I am making your bread recipe right now, but doubled it so I can freeze some. Would you recommend me freezing the cooked product or the risen dough?

    Love your blog!

    Kristen in MA

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    Replies
    1. Kristen-
      I like to freeze the baked bread, but you can freeze the dough too. I just like the convenience of pulling out a loaf of bread already made.

      Happy Baking,
      Gina

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  25. Thanks! I made this and mentioned it on my blog!
    http://savegreenbeinggreen.blogspot.com/2012/11/just-what-you-wanted-more-pinterest.html

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  26. OHH I want to share this on my Facebook page!! I am a 41 year old homemaker of 4 children and many of my friends have no idea on where to start on making bread....they always call me the baker....hmmm wonder if I can share???

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  27. This was my first attempt EVER at baking bread. I was worried about it rising since we don't have a heater in our apartment, but it rose up so nicely (it's a lot of fun to watch it grow before your eyes)! It came out delicious and moist and was the perfect complement to the soup we prepared for dinner. Thank you for sharing!

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  28. I cannot figure out if T means tablespoon or teaspoon :(

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    Replies
    1. I use a capital "T" to signify tablespoon. Sorry for the confusion!
      Gina

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    2. So sorry for the late reply. I made this bread but I decided to kneed it by hand for about 10 minutes....old habits die hard. It was absolutely wonderful. Could easily make 4 breads out of this. Thank you soooo much for sharing.

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  29. I heat two cups of water to boiling in a small glass inside my microwave then set my dough in with the hot water and shut the door. Makes the perfect environment for raising dough.

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  30. made this recipe yesterday, 1 loaf and 8 knot rolls! I accidentally left out the 2nd rise as my dough was tripled in size, Still worked and Delicious!

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  31. I know this is an old post, but I thought you would enjoy this: I've been making bread for my family recently, and they all really enjoy it. I made this recipe yesterday and my husband said "Wow, your bread baking skills are improving!" I had to laugh. Sometimes the simplest things are the best. Thank you for this blog, and for keeping up with it even during this trying time for your family. I really enjoy your musings on bread, gardening, books, and life. :-)

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  32. I only have packets of instant yeast. How much would I use in this recipe please.

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    Replies
    1. 1 packet of instant yeast is about equal to 1 T yeast. I use instant yeast for this recipe.
      Gina

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  33. Well I have never made bread..but I will try this recipe. I just need to know what flour to start with..self raising…plain..or bread making flour. Aussie baker

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    Replies
    1. I use either all-purpose or bread flour. Both work well.
      Happy Baking,
      Gina

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