Bake Your Own Bread!
Yes... Really, You CAN with this Foolproof Recipe!

Freshly baked bread, 2 loaves and four buns cooling, butter dish

Now you can easily bake your own bread—and save money—just like my friend Rob does over in the UK!

He loves to cook and bake... I decided it was high time to try my hand (again) at bread making.

I had a go when I was a kid, and they turned out like loaves of bricks.

That put me off ever baking bread again!

But about 15 years ago, I bought a bread-making machine. Yep. I used it four times. That made each loaf of bread work out to cost $37.50! :-)

So, by making your own bread with no fancy appliances, you'll certainly save money, plus get an arm workout!

Just look how lovely the loaves turned out, and I made some buns at the same time too using the same recipe.

Bake Your Own Bread and Save $$$

If you've never done it, now is the time to bake your own bread and save money—you don't have to rely on the grocery stores' high-priced breads.

Mom and I figured it cost me around $1 per loaf, and about 10 cents each per bun! WOW!

My husband did some research and came across this fantastic bread recipe over at Fleischmann's Yeast. Check out the recipe link, in the red box below.

Use this Fleischmann's Yeast
Homemade No-Knead White Bread
RECIPE

Bake Your Own Bread—The Easy Way!

Home Baked Bread cooling on a wire rack

It is quite easy to bake your own bread, by the way. Simply use the Fleischmann's recipe in the pink box shown above.

I could have made it much easier on myself if I had not been doing two loads of laundry and making up my husband's lunch bag at the same time, though!

My mom and I could not wait for the bread to cool down completely.

Excitedly, we grabbed the bread knife and cut the first slice... or two, and then three!

Still warm from the oven and spread with fresh butter, it really can't be beat. It's truly the simple pleasures in life that sustain us.

Looks Like Real Beautiful Bread (because it is!)

Beginner Bread recipe ready for baking showing risen dough in pans

Both mom and I were extremely impressed with the bread recipe and our overall efforts!

It looked like professional bakers had made it! ;-)  

By the way, I split the bread dough into three parts, two equally sized dough balls for the loaves, and the third dough ball (a bit smaller) was enough to make four medium-sized buns, as shown in the photo and mentioned at the top of the page.

Score the bread tops after the first proofing when the loaves are shaped and in the tins. Put about four or five slits on a 45-degree angle on the loaf tops, and I did a cross on the buns!

The photo above shows how the slits in the bread opened up while in the second proofing (before they went into the oven for baking).

I wasn't sure if that was the right thing to do or the right time to do it, but I got lucky and it worked out beautifully!

My bread was in the oven for exactly 25 minutes at 400°F and I took one loaf out, shook it loose, turned it out, and tapped it on the bottom.

My bread-baking buddy in the UK says the bread, when tapped, needs to sound hollow. It did sound hollow, so out of the oven they all came!

Brush Loaves with Melted Butter!

Mom had the brilliant idea of brushing melted butter on the tops of the loaves as soon as they came out of the oven.

That simple brushing of butter completely transformed the bread's coloring! It also made the bread crust soft, which is handy to know for those of you who may not like a hard bread crust.

Bread buns on wire rack, one piece buttered
Loaf of bread, sliced, on cutting board

🍍 🍎 🥦 🥔  🍒 🧄

20 Taste-Tested EASY Recipes - eBook or paperback

actually, there are 26 recipes!

The recipes also include the
food ingredient amounts to use
when you have fresh food on hand!

Here's How to Make EASY
MEALS with Dried Food
Recipe Book

🍕 Pizza!      🥧  Shepherd's Pie!
🥘  Beef Stew!
plus Cauliflower Soup and
Cauliflower Mash, along
with crazy Carrot Soup!

Desserts:
Carrot Cake and
Cranberry Pineapple Pie!
and more...

🍍 🍎 🥦 🥔  🍒 🧄

Here's How to Make EASY
MEALS with Dried Food
Recipe Book

20 Taste-Tested EASY Recipes - eBook or paperback

actually, there are 26 recipes!

🍕 Pizza!
🥧  Shepherd's Pie!
🥘  Beef Stew!

plus Cauliflower Soup and Cauliflower Mash, along with crazy Carrot Soup!

Decadent Desserts:
Carrot Cake and Cranberry Pineapple Pie and more...

The recipes also include the food ingredient amounts to use when you have fresh food on hand!

Use a Thermometer...

Bread dough rising in a bowl

For testing the temperature of the water, I used my trusty digital prong Acu-Rite meat thermometer that I use for sticking in the breast meat of the Thanksgiving and Christmas turkeys... and it worked fine!

Regarding proofing the bread (letting it rise), I used the thermometer I just mentioned.

I set the oven to its lowest setting which was 150°F and then I cranked the door open to let in cooler air, and closed it when it dropped to 85°F. That's the temperature I used to proof the bread at.

All I did was drape an old clean (slightly dampened) dish towel over the bread tins. I realized that at 85°F, the towel would not set on fire so I felt OK using the oven!

I was able to close the oven door for both proofings so there were no drafts, and the temperature stayed at 85°F—just right!

I am thrilled, and I've baked this bread many times since posting this.

UPDATE: I have baked this bread several times since, and each time yields impressive bread! BUT—and there's always a BUT!—it never hangs around the house long enough to savor for more than a day or two! :-) ... but what a fantastic way to save money!