And now a post for my friends that like to cook! Several years ago, my yeast bread making skills were more like brick making. I did not understand how anyone could possibly make good homemade white bread, but I was determined to master it. I challenged myself to not buy bread from the store and I would make it again and again until I succeeded. My family was patient and it took many tries, but I finally did master it after making about every mistake imaginable. Then I set out to find the perfect white bread recipe. I wanted one that was not only delicious, but took ingredients that had a long shelf life that could be easily stored. I finally found the perfect recipe through a friend, and that recipe is below. I learned some tricks along the way and I’ll share them with you, too. I did a photo shoot one time when I was making bread to use for my stock work, so you get some fancy demo pics to go by. If you use these exact ingredients and follow these simple steps, you will make 3 delicious loaves of white bread. Check out the tips and tricks at the end, and be sure to share a loaf with a friend

RECIPE

HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE WHITE BREAD RECIPE:

STEP 1: Measure the yeast into a large bowl, then add the water. Add the sugar, oil, and salt. Stir until just blended. Add about 2 cups flour and stir in. Add a bit more flour until the dough is the consistency of pancake batter like in the picture below.

STEP 2: Stir the dough for FOUR minutes. This is generally how long it takes to break down the gluten in the flour so when it’s time to knead it, the dough will absorb the flour much better and the bread’s consistency will also be better. When the gluten is broke down, the dough will be smooth and kind of stretchy behind the spoon as you stir.

STEP 3: Add more flour gradually, until it’s too thick to stir, at which time it will be ready to knead.

STEP 4: Generously spread flour onto a surface you can knead on, and empty the contents of the bowl onto it. Sprinkle more flour onto the dough and gently turn it until the dough holds together well enough to begin kneading. Knead the bread by folding it in half towards you, then pushing it away with the heel of your hand. Turn 1/4 turn, and do this again. Repeat for about 5-7 minutes. Add flour to your kneading surface if it starts to get sticky. You can sprinkle a little bit of flour on top of the dough, but it’s best to let it absorb what it needs from the bottom as you’re kneading, so you don’t force more flour into the dough than is necessary.

STEP 5: Place the dough back into the bowl (or a new bowl if you prefer) and place somewhere warm until about double in size.

STEP 6: Grease 3 bread pans. Do it well because it will stick anywhere you miss

STEP 7: Place the dough back onto your floured surface, and knead it a few times to get all the air bubbles out. Add a bit more flour to your kneading surface if the dough is sticky. Divide into 3 equal parts. (I use a large knife and just press straight down through the dough.) Shape the loaves by stretching the top of the dough around the sides and tucking under the bottom, so the top is nice and smooth. Place dough in the bread pan and press down with the palm of your hand so it fills the bottom of the pan. Let rise until about double in size, or until it looks like the picture below.

No, there's not any eggs in this recipe!

STEP 8: Bake at 350* for 25 minutes. After baking, empty the bread from the pans onto a cloth, and cover with another cloth. After the loaves have had about 15 minutes or so to let some of the steam escape, cut a big slice, slather it with butter, and enjoy

TIPS & TRICKS:

• Use a big wooden spoon. Maybe it doesn’t matter, but it seems nicer on the yeast and after stirring for that 4 minutes, a wood handle is kinder on the hands.
• Don’t adjust any ingredients. It might seem like a lot of salt, but I tried reducing it and it was not a good thing.
• I’ve tried different brands of yeast, and I swear they affected the flavor of the bread. Fleischmann’s comes in a small brown glass jar, or a 2 lb bag. I buy the bag and then dump and store it in a covered container in the freezer. The little packets of yeast contain only 2 & 1/4 tsp, which isn’t enough for this recipe, so don’t mess with them.
• I was surprised that even different brands of flour can affect the consistency and the taste. Western Family Bread Flour has been my favorite.
• Bread flour has more gluten in it which helps the yeast do its thing. You can use all purpose flour, but it will take longer to rise.
• I used a candy thermometer to learn what 110 degree water felt like, then never used a thermometer again. Close enough is close enough. You just don’t want it too hot or cold is all.
• I’ve read some instructions regarding using yeast like letting it soak in the warm water for 10 minutes, or adding just a little bit of sugar and letting it set. I don’t do those things and it turns out fine. Maybe it has something to do with the yeast I use, I don’t know. But if you use the same yeast I do, then just add the water and the rest of the ingredients like in the instructions, and everything will be fine.
• My favorite place to let the dough do its first rise is in a warmed oven. I turn it to warm while I’m making the dough, then turn it off after it’s heated. This will raise the dough to double in about 1 hour.
• I use the same bowl for letting it rise as I mixed it in, because it just doesn’t make sense to dirty another bowl.
• I’ve read many times about covering the dough with a damp towel. Well, if the dough rises up into that damp towel, you can kiss that towel goodbye. I either spray the top of the dough with cooking spray and cover with plastic wrap, or don’t spray it and just cover it with a lid, or don’t do anything with it at all. If it dries out a little, you’ll never be able to tell in the finished loaf.
• Do not use cooking spray on your bread pans. It will ruin them. Glass Pyrex bread pans are the most durable and they clean up easier than metal pans, too. If you grease them well (plain Crisco is perfect), they are totally non-stick.
• Don’t brush melted butter on the crust. When you remove the bread from the oven, it will seem like the crust is hard. It will soften as the steam releases from the bread, and it will stay nice and soft. Brushing it with butter only makes the bag funky you’ll be storing the bread in.
• Make sure the bread has completely cooled before storing in bags, or you will have moisture gather on the plastic and your bread will get soggy in places.
• This recipe is also great for rolls and buns.
• If the dough doesn’t rise:
  • It was kept in too cool of a place. Solution: put it somewhere warmer, or just keep waiting. It will rise in a cool place, it’ll just take longer.
  • It was in a place too hot and you killed the yeast. Solution: throw it away and start over. It’s not going to rise no matter what you do with it now.
  • The yeast is old. It has a long shelf life (a year or so), but it will eventually get old. Solution: unless the yeast is ancient, it will probably still rise, it’ll just take longer.

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I’ve never been a big raisin bread fan, but my husband is, so I thought maybe somewhere in the world there was a raisin bread recipe that we could both enjoy. Well I found it, tweaked it to perfection, and here it is! As soon as it’s gone, I have to make more since it’s so good with breakfast and for snacks. And since I’m in Christmas shooting mode for my stock work, I stuck a Christmas tree in the picture. I know, I know… it’s not even Halloween yet! Scroll down for the recipe

In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Mix in the warm milk, sugar, salt, eggs, butter, and raisins. (Note: I mix the raisins into the melted butter before adding to the mix in case the butter is too hot for the yeast.) Add in enough flour so it’s the consistency of pancake batter and stir for 4 minutes with a wooden spoon. Add in more flour so it’s not so sticky and then knead on a floured surface for 5 minutes. Let rise in a warm place until double in size (about an hour in a warm place).

Knead out the air bubbles and divide dough into the number of loaves you are making. Roll out the dough for one loaf on floured surface into a large rectangle about a 1/2″ thick (about 9×20 is what I do). Brush the surface of dough with milk, then sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture. Roll tightly and carefully so as not to create any air pockets. Press air out of the ends and tuck underneath, then place in greased bread pan. Allow to rise until double (about 30 minutes in a warm place). Bake at 350* for 32 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately remove from pan.

*NOTE: If making yeast bread is something you’re not comfortable with, see my Delicious Homemade White Bread Recipe. Detailed instructions with photos, tips and tricks.

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Not only is this the best chocolate chip cookie recipe I’ve ever tried, they’re photogenic too! I love chunky cookies. I’ve baked these several times in the last little while and they’ve been such a hit. The secret’s in the pudding! They’re too good not to share, so here’s the recipe

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup butter (softened)
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 (3.5 oz) package instant Cheesecake pudding mix
• 2 eggs
• 2 1/4 cups flour (bread flour helps make them chunky)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup coconut flakes
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 cup chocolate chips
  (white, semi-sweet, and/or milk chocolate chips – just pour in what looks good)

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. (177 degrees C.)
2. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars. Add pudding mix, eggs and vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to creamed mixture and mix well. Dough will be very thick. Fold in nuts, coconut, and chocolate chips.
3. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets and bake 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. They don’t spread out much, so if you want a bigger cookie than this, you’ll need to adjust the temperature and cooking time.

Note - The above is how I make them. You can use different flavors of pudding, leave out or adjust the amounts of the coconut or nuts if you want, and add as many or few chocolate chips as you want. They’ll still be delicious!

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