Easy Guide to Baking Homemade Bread

Food experts and nutritionists tell us that homemade bread is a cheaper and healthier alternative to store-bought loaves, but all that specialized hardware - bread machines, kneading beaters, convection ovens, etc. - make bread-making seem intimidating and costly. But here's the truth: homemade bread is VERY easy to make, and you only need an oven and a little elbow grease to knead the dough. No bread machine necessary. In fact, I don't even use measuring cups when baking bread (gasp!). Here's how I do it:

1. Proof the yeast. In order to make sure those little packets of "Active Dry Yeast" really are active, you'll have to mix them in with some warm (NOT hot!) water and a little sugar. I usually fill a coffee cup with water, stick it in the microwave for 30 seconds, pour it into a large bowl, add a spoonful of sugar and a handful of flour, and stir in a packet of yeast. If the mixture bubbles up and doubles in size within the hour, it's active and you can continue.

NOTE: This step isn't 100% necessary. If you're fairly certain that the yeast is good, you can continue without waiting to see if the sugar water/yeast will bubble. That said, I always do it. It really stinks to knead bread and go through all the trouble only to have made a loaf of bread that won't rise.

2. Mix in some flour. Always add flour to the yeast mixture, instead of the other way around. A lot of variables will affect how much flour you'll need, including temperature, humidity, and altitude. The truth is that you'll add flour until the mixture can't take anymore and it's just a little sticky.

Along with the flour, you'll need to add salt to help flavor the loaf and help the yeast to rise at just the right speed. More salt = a slower rising. A good rule of thumb is about 1 � teaspoons of salt to every cup of flour.

3. Knead the bread. This is the part of the bread-making process that will take the most amount of practice, but it's not hard by any means. Flour your surface and your hands. Plop the dough down and push it down with your palms or knuckles. Fold the dough back on itself toward you and turn it � turn. Push down again. Half the dough on itself again, turning again, pushing again. Add a little four to the surface of the dough when it starts to stick to your hands. You'll probably add at least � cup more flour while kneading.

Be patient with the kneading process. On average, I usually spend a good 8 - 12 minutes kneading dough. You'll know when it's ready to rise when the dough becomes smooth and satiny. You don't want the surface to be dry with flour but you don't want it to stick to your hands, either. When in doubt, knead a little longer.

4. Let the bread rise. The bread will rise twice: once after kneading and again after shaping. After kneading the dough, place it in a lightly oiled bowl. Make sure that some of the oil (vegetable or olive oil, it doesn't really matter) covers all of the surface area of the dough. Cover the bowl with a damp towel and set it somewhere warm to rise.

The dough will double in size while rising. You'll know it's ready if you push your finger into the surface and the finger indention remains.

5. Deflate and shape the dough. Plop the dough down onto the counter (I usually don't find a need to flour the counter as the oil keeps the dough from sticking). Deflate the dough by pressing down on it with your fingers. It might make a hissing sound - these are the air bubbles inside popping. After you've flattened the dough to about �" thickness, roll the dough like a fruit roll-up from one side to the other. If it feels too long, cut it in half and make two loaves. I usually like rounder, thicker loaves, so I leave it the way it is.

Shape the edges of the dough into the general shape that you want and place the dough on some parchment paper on a cookie sheet (if you don't have parchment paper, just oil the cookie sheet).

6. Let the bread rise again. You're going to let the dough rise until it's doubled in size again, but this time it should only take about 30-45 minutes.

After the dough has risen, take a sharp knife and make some slices into the top of the dough about �" deep. The design doesn't really matter, but the traditional angle is about 30 degrees. These slices will make the bread pretty and allow it to expand so that it doesn't split in half on its own.

7. Bake the bread. Bake the bread in a 400 degree oven for about 20 - 30 minutes. If you like, place an oven-safe bowl full of water in the oven on the bottom shelf. The heat from the oven will make the water steam and keep the humidity high, which will help create the perfect crust on your homemade bread.

Because every oven is different, it's a good idea to check on your bread occasionally. If you take a knife and tap on the top of the loaf and it makes a hollow sound, your bread is done.

Let the bread cool before cutting into it, or you'll end up with a dry loaf!