Homemade bread baked in a bread loaf tin is healthy, and affordable – find below a simple recipe and ingredients to make a dough and bake a wonderful loaf of bread.
To make a homemade bread loaf you will need flour, water, yeast, salt, and whatever size bread loaf tin you would like to use. This recipe will use the standard bread loaf tin, available in any supermarket.
For a basic homemade bread loaf recipe you will need: 3/4 oz. dried active yeast, 2 cups warm water, 2 pounds bread flour, and 1 tbsp. salt. Have some extra flour on hand for dusting.
Now comes the mixing step. Mix your yeast in with your warm water until well dissolved. In a large bowl, mix the salt with most of the flour, but not all. Mix the water into approximately one pound of the salted flour mixture. Mix well so it is well incorporated, then add the remainder of the salted flour mixture. Continue to mix until it is all well incorporated. You want the dough to be smooth, but not sticky. Continue to knead the dough until this is reached. You should end up with an elastic very smooth dough. Continue to add the flour mixture slowly until this texture has been reached, and the dough does not stick to the bowl.
Now you have to let the bread ferment. Shape your dough into a smooth ball, set it into a well greased bowl, and cover it with a clean towel. It should be set in a warm area to rise. You want your dough to be doubled in size, and when you poke it the dough does not spring back at you.
Now remove the dough from the bowl, and roll it out onto a lightly dusted cutting board, and roll out the excess gases. Decide how many bread loaf tins you will use, and split the dough apart accordingly. Cover with a clean lint free towel. Let sit for just a few minutes.
Then shape your dough to the approximate size and shape of your bread loaf tins. You do this by shaping and stretching the dough with your hands. Set the dough in the bread loaf tin and again cover with a clean towel to ferment some more. You want the dough to again double in size.
Now you are ready to bake. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Loaves, in a bread loaf tin, can take up to 30 minutes of bake time, you will know it is done when it is a lovely golden brown color, and when you tap it, it sounds hollow.