- 3 cups of white or whole wheat flour, or 1-1/2 cups of each (plus a little extra flour for kneading)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 packet, or about 2 teaspoons yeast
- 1 tablespoon sugar or brown sugar or honey
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 cup warm water (not hot, just warm)
When you need a recipe to practice making bread with, this is the one to turn to. First you need a big bowl. If you don’t have a big bowl, then a large pot will work just as well. Measure the flour into the bowl (or pot). White flour is easier to use to make your first batch of dough. Whole Wheat flour makes a simple variation though, when you decide to branch out a little. Make sure your flour measurements are level with the top 
of the measuring cup. Don’t pack the flour down into the cup. Just scoop it in lightly, and even off the top of it with your finger by brushing off the excess. After you put your flour into the bowl, add the salt, sugar and yeast. One of the packets of yeast from the store will work just fine. If you have a jar or bag of yeast, then use about 2 teaspoons of it. Using your hands or a spoon or fork, stir the yeast, salt, sugar and flour all together. These are the dry ingredients. They are called dry ingredients because they aren’t wet or sticky. They are dry and light. Now measure in your oil. Add a cup of warm water. Do not use hot tap water. Hot tap water is too hot and will kill the yeast. Use warm tap water instead. Warm enough to feel warm to your finger, but not warm enough to scald you. Try to measure the water accurately.
Stir the dough with a fork or spoon until it gets sticky and stiff. Next look at your hands, are they clean? If not then wash them. Remove any rings or watches you may have on and put them 
in a safe place. Dig into the dough with your clean hands. It will be gooey, and warm. Work the dough with your hands, right there in the bowl. Scrape the dough off of your fingers as necessary and try to get the dough to all work together into a nice ball. If it is too sticky then add more flour. You may need to add up to 1/2 cup more flour, or even more sometimes. If it is too dry, then add a little bit of water at a time, to get it right. Usually a teaspoon of water at a time, is a good way to go. Mix and mash; Mix and mash. When you get a ball of dough, turn the dough out onto your counter or kitchen table. Scatter a bit of flour about the dough, and around the counter. Knead the dough. Press it, fold it, stretch it, turn it. Keep kneading the dough for a full 5 minutes by the clock. Set the timer if need be. Kneading makes the dough soft and fluffy. Be sure to knead it enough.
Then let the dough sit on the counter for a few minutes while you wash out the bowl you used 
to mix it in. Dry the bowl and pour a little bit of oil into it. A spoonful (teaspoon or tablespoon) will be just enough. Place the ball of dough into the clean bowl, on top of the oil. Roll the dough around in the oil, to coat it evenly. Place the dough in a warm spot, or on the counter near the stove. Cover the top of the bowl with plastic wrap or a tea towel. Allow the dough to sit and rise. It may take the dough up to 2 hours to rise. You will want it to double in size. Be patient and give the dough enough time to get as big as it can. Sometimes this happens in as quickly as an hour, but usually it takes longer, especially if the kitchen is cold.
When it is well risen, punch the dough down. Put your fist into the dough and smash down to force all the air out of it. Knead the dough again. This time, just knead it for a minute or so. Long 
enough to get all the air out of it. Let the dough rest for a minute or two while you oil or grease a loaf pan. A large loaf pan either 9″ by 5″ or 8½” by 4½” is the perfect size. If you don’t have a loaf pan, then use a casserole pan, or a round cake pan. The dough doesn’t know what shape it is supposed to be. You have to give it shape. Round bread is sometimes easier to make as a first loaf, so if you don’t have a bread pan, use what ever you do have. Just make sure to grease the pan well. Coax the dough into the shape of the pan you are going to bake it in. Cover it with a dish towel or plastic wrap again. Set it aside and let it rise for about an hour to an hour and a half. It should double in bulk again. After it has risen enough, it is time to bake it. Set the oven to 350° or 375°. Place the bread into the oven. You do not need to preheat the oven. Let the bread bake for 30 to 40 minutes. When it is done the top will be golden brown. It will be well risen, and
crusty. Carefully turn the hot bread out of the pan and onto a dishtowel on the counter. Be careful not to burn yourself. Thump the bottom with your finger. If it sounds hollow then it is done. If it doesn’t sound hollow, then put it back into the pan and bake it some more. Allow the bread to cool down for a few minutes before slicing it.
When you slice it be sure to use a serrated (bumpy) edged knife. Saw back and forth across the bread like you are sawing a log. Do not press too hard, just saw gently. When you get your first slice of bread, spread a little margarine or jam on it and take a bite. Succumb to the pleasure which only a bite of your own homemade bread can create. Grin decadently and plan your next loaf.
Or, if this loaf of bread fails, check the recipe and try again. Keep trying until you are satisf
ied with your results. I didn’t make it perfectly the first time; I made bricks. Big heavy, chewy, undercooked bricks. It takes practice to get the hang of it, so don’t give up. Just keep at it, and before you know it, you will be very pleased with what a little flour and yeast can make up for less than twenty-five cents.
Ready to give another frugal bread recipe a try? How about making your very own cornmeal tortillas. It’s easier than you think.
This recipe prompted my first of many attempts at breadmaking. It’s so simple! For me it works great with regular white flour but when I add wheat flour I can’t get it to rise very well. My last attempt I added gluten and a little extra water and it turned out great!
I made this bread for years but eventually lost the bowl.. Can you tell me the size, or the mold number on the bottom so I can find out if they still make it or what the equivalent to it is now.
I have been makeing bread for a while but in the past 2 years I’v only bought about 2 loaves of bread. I don’t like the bread in the stores. I’m glad I found you. I’ always looking to perfect my bread. I had company yesterday. I was cooking a meal with fresh veggies from my garden and that takes time so I was trying to save time and made my bread the day before but I wasn’t going to cook it until the next day. It was a mess. They liked it and ate all of it but I was disappointed. What should I have done? Hope to here from you. I’m going to try your beginners recipe tomorrow. It is close to the one I started out with. I still keep trying to perfect this recipe. We like it crunchy but my rolls come out flat. Thanks for your comments.
If you want to make your bread dough ahead of time, try freezing it. I make bread dough, let it rise the first time and punch it down, kneed it and then shape it into rolls and freeze it. I freeze it in a muffin tin and then put the rolls into a gallon sized ziplock bag. It takes about 4 hours for rolls to defrost and rise. I’m not sure how long it would take for a whole loaf to defrost and rise. You could try it and watch it and see.
If your rolls are flat either you did’t let them rise long enough or you let them rise too long and they fell.
I did it on the first try! I have made bread before, nbut the Amish recipe was long and complicated (a total of 4 hours to rise. It was always nice on the outside and brick-like on the inside. I had almost given up until I found this recipe! No more Wal-mart bread for my family!!!! THANK YOU!!
E
Well I dont know what i did wrong, but I tried it with half whole wheat, half white, and honey instead of sugar. It rose really well but then when i baked it, its sunk in the middle
Sara:
Usually, when bread rises well, but falls during baking means the dough was too wet. You may have to adjust your water/flour mix a little.
Cheers!
Grey
I just noticed, you substituted honey for sugar…. this is where the excess water came from!
Have you ever used this recipe in a bread maker? Ya know just throw everything in, I guess there is only one way to find out! I will let you know if it turns out.
Thank you so much for this easy recipe. This was my first try at bread, and I was delighted to have an edible result! I made it with Pillsbury bread flour and light brown sugar. It was a little dense and chewy, but great with butter and jelly.
Why would you spoil your beautiful home made bread by putting margarine on it? If ever there is a time when only butter will do, surely this is it.
Some people don’t like butter.
This beginers precipe has turned me into a pro when it comes to baking home-made bread! I am absolutely pleased with the way my family enjoys it, not to mention my girlfriends whom i usually invite for tea just after baking! I think i am a better mom, wife, and friend:)
i just made this bread and it was easy and delicious.we normally make bread in the bread machine but this was 100 times better.thankyou
If I want to make this with honey, when do I add it – I assume with the oil/water? Does that affect the way the yeast interacts with it at all?
Thanks!
I make mine with honey. I use about 2-3 tablespoons for 2 loaves. I add it at the same time I am adding my other wet ingredients. I also use melted butter and warm milk, instead of oil and butter. I usually add a little more flour than the recipe calls for, that might just be the way it works for me though. I’ve been using this recipe for several year and have enjoyed trying different flours in it, too.
I just made a loaf of this bread and it turned out beautiful! I cut myself a slice and buttered it, and it was delicious! I will be making this a lot. THis if the first bread that I have made successfully.
my mom always made wonderful bread! Problem she just throws it all together without a recipe, thus I couldn’t get the recipe!!! this is almost perfect match! closest I’ve ever got. my family loved it! Thank you!
Mine seems to have turned out alright.. it is still cooling so I haven’t tasted it. I’m wondering though if it didn’t rise enough.. it was only a little above my loaf pan and its certain not tall enough for say sandwhiches.. I don’t mind that.. I’m just asking incase it turned out wrong lol .
Got the urge to try this today – this bread is FABULOUS!!! I’ve never had much luck with bread before, but this turned out great! I can’t wait to make another loaf (going to try it with some wheat flour next time, and maybe honey) this next weekend – maybe even two, depending on how fast this one goes!!!
I use this as my base recipe whenever I want to pull out the breadmaker. I use regular all-purpose flour, whatever sugary sweetener I have on hand (I’ve used honey, sugar and molasses before) and whatever oil (today I had some walnut oil).
At my local co-op they sell bulk grains dirt cheap – which is perfect for this. In my breadmaker I have oat/bulgar/wheat bran bread cooking right now.
I just throw it all into the breadmaker and forget about it (until the smell is unable to be ignored). It always comes out perfect. Thank you.
I normally don’t comment on sites, but I just had to share my excitement! I followed this recipe exactly and the bread rose beautifully and then baked into a delicious loaf with a flaky crust and soft insides. Even if the bread didn’t turn out, the smell would’ve been well worth all the work. Thank you for such an easy recipe. I am so proud of my first loaf of bread!
This is a question has anyone made this bread, but somewhere in the recipe not let it rise the second time? I want to make the dough in the middle of the day today and not have it ready till tomorrow for supper and no time tomorrow to make it up. Any suggestions would be greatly appriciated. Thanks
Let it rise in the fridge. Due to the cold it takes MUCH longer to rise.
I made this in one day, and It was really easy to make. It turned out really good and nice and moist on the inside. I used bread flour instead of the the two types of flour that was called for. The only thing I didnt like about it was that it didnt have enough flavor. What should I do to enhance the flavor next time? I am extremly proud that it turned out so good, and on my first try.
well this is my first try but i didnt want the bread to be plain and my mother likes cinnamon raisin bread so i added cinnamon raisins and brown sugar…(try that itll add your own little flavor into the reicipe) and see how it works out… good luck
As a young mother when Tupperware was too,there was a tupperware bread recipe and all the ingredients were mixed into a large green tupperware bowl with the lid on it would rise till the lid popped off and then you put it in pans to rise. It was delicious. I’ve lost my bowl and my recipe. Can anyone help?
I can email you the recipe. I’ve been a Tupperware “Lady” for 11 1/2 years now. You are welcome to contact me at tantupper@yahoo.com or tanyatucker2@yahoo.com for the recipe. It’s been kind of renamed as the “Thatsa Bowl Bread”
i love this recipe!I searched everywhere for something like this!
marilyn,
A google search for Tupperware bread came back with this recipe: http://hicards.com/platinum/bizarre/5-11a.html
I just posted the Tupperware Bread recipe that I have used on my blog here:
http://nourishinghome.blogspot.com/2010/01/recipe-tupperware-bread.html
I hope that helps someone out! This is a great “starter” recipe for those just beginning to make their own bread.
I tried clicking on the link for the tupperware bread bowl recipe and it didn’t work, I was going to make it for my aunt who used to love it when she was a youngester. Any help finding this would be greatly appreciated. I am also going to try the beginner bread recipes,wish me luck…
To answer the question about making bread the day before, you can rise the first time and put the bread in loaf pans. Then just cover your pans with plastic wrap and store them in the fridge to rise very slowly. pull them out and set on the counter when you turn on the oven, or a little sooner if they are not tall enough! It works great!
I tried this recipe. I had never made bread from scratch before. It turned out GREAT. Thank-you so much for posting. It was very easy and we really enjoyed!
I made this dough recipe and it turned out great for my purposes. I used it to make round rolls filled with cooked sausage meat in the center; some with oil cured olives and chunks of parm cheese. I just rolled dough into balls and stuffed center and placed on cookie sheet. They came out great! Today I am making them again.
My husband wanted to learn to make homemade bread. I gave him this recipe and he is having a ball. this is the easiest thing he has ever done! Thanks so much.
Anita
I just finished baking bread with this lovely recipe.It came out so soft and delicious, I am hooked. This is my first attempt at homemade bread. I used 2 1/2 c of A.P. and 1/2 c of Spelt flour. My oven is hotter than usual so I had to take it out after 25 mins.Thank you.I am glad I found this site.
Thank you! I’ve never made homemade bread before. Your recipe was so easy & explained so well that my 1st loaf came out fabulously!!! I currently have my 2nd loaf in the oven & it looks like it’s going to be even better than the first! No more store bought bread for us. Thank you again!
My friend and I tried this recipe and our bread came out so nicely and it tasted so good! It was our first attempt at making homemade oven bread instead of the bread machine. We used bread flour instead of AP flour which I think helped with the great results.
Thank you for posting this!
I just want to say thank you for the recipes. It was perfect. My husband and I had a couple slices with butter and jam. Oh my goodness. This was my first attempt at making bread and it was amazing. Ur site has helped me with alot during these tough economic times. I have also made ur cornmeal tortillas and banana bread. All I can say is. Thanks a bunch. Keep up the good work. U r an inspiration.
I am making homemade bread for the first time in years and it is turning out lumpy and jumpy on top…rather than smooth. I am wondering what I am doing wrong. Too much flour, not enough flour, needs more kneading??? any ideas
Thanks for the recipe. After several attempts at making bread with several different recipes this is the one that was successful! I would like to double the recipe and freeze the dough to make at a later date. Has anyone tried this? How long would it take to thaw and rise?
This was my first time making bread and it came out perfect! So crusty on the outside and soft and delicious on the inside. Thanks for the great and easy recipe!
Love, love, love this recipe. I don’t buy bread anymore! I cheat a little and use rapid rise yeast so I can get it done in an hour. I’ve had luck making both white and wheat using brown sugar. I always feel like Martha Stewart when I pack my kids lunches on homemade bread! And I love that I know just what went in it (besides all the love kneaded in!). Thank you so much!! The baked loaves freeze well too!
I just came across this recipe last night & made my first loaf tonight. It came out great!
My husband even thought it reminded him about some dinners, while out @ a resturant. Thanks so much for sharing.
I made this recipe, I have a few questions as mine came out heavy, but good. It did not rise as well as I thought it should have. is the flour shifted? I had to add more water then wound up adding a little too much and had to knead in about 2 more cups of flour. Now I will admit my flour was old. But I did not think that would matter so much. My yeast is fresh. Also my bread pans are 10inches long. I did notice that extra inch does make a big difference in the bread size. But even cooked in the bread pan it looked like a hard dense french bread. It was done all the way through. Any suggestions?
I found my error. The recipe is for 1 loaf not 2.
Thank you for this recipe. I made it lastnight and it turned out to be the best loaf of bread I have made! So easy, yet so good. Also, with the loaf pan I used it made the perfect size of slices for sandwhiches, which I have been trying to get for years.
Oh, and I used honey instead of sugar, and 4 tblsp of butter instead of oil, (as I was out)
This recipe is amazing! I live at a higher altitude (Calgary, Alberta) and baking anything can be hit or miss so I didn’t know what to expect. This is the second time I’ve attempted bread and the first time it did not rise. This resulted in a picture perfect white sandwich loaf as if I’d gone to the fancy bakery! It rose beautifully, and tasted awesome. I even made french toast with the last remains, decadent! I baked my second loaf today and it turned out even better! Thank you for this recipe!
Thank you for this! I’m an Australian living in Texas and the impossibility of finding bread that doesn’t taste like sugar has been doing my head in, but I’ve historically not had a lot of success baking my own. This worked perfectly!
Howdy,
Curious if you could use this recipe with spelt flour? We don’t use much wheat in our home….preferring spelt flour.
Thank you for help in this matter.
A good basic recipe! I started with a “no knead” recipe because I have rheumatoid arthritis and don’t own a food processor or bread machine. Your recipe will work just fine with the “no knead” technique, the only difference being the time needed for the first rising. You can leave the sticky dough in the mixing bowl without turning it out, and cover lightly with oiled plastic wrap. Leave it alone for 12 to 18 hours until dough looks stretched and has holes on the surface.
Then follow the rest of your recipe, turning it out, adding a bit of flour, and kneading just enough to get it into shape.
I’ve found that if you like a very crunchy, thick crust, it helps to pre-heat the oven and add some moisture to the oven when you first put the bread in. This is easily accomplished by throwing a tray of ice-cubes onto the oven floor as you put the dough in.
If you prefer a softer crust, the kind that kids like, start the dough in a cold oven like this recipe instructs, and you can also brush the top with a little milk, buttermilk, or melted butter which will not only soften the crust but give it a nice color.
With the price of spongy, flavorless, non-substantial commercial bread approaching the $2.50 mark these days, with so called “artisan loaves” going for $5.00 or more, it’s foolish not to dive in there and learn to bake your own. I’ve had disasters too, but for every disaster I’ve enjoyed 3 or 4 “EUREKA!” moments, and it really IS “that easy.”
Just wanted to encourage those who don’t have the manual strength and dexterity or expensive machinery (or cooperative husband!) available for the kneading process. It doesn’t matter! YOU TOO CAN MAKE YOUR OWN BREAD!
It just takes longer.
I use the dough cycle on the bread machine so I don’t have to knead it. I take the dough out and braid it (for Challah) or bake it in loaf pans. You might try looking for a bread machine at your local thrift shops. We picked one up recently for $5 dollars. Good luck!
Living in the Australian tropic zone—I would like to know if anyone has had success at baking bread in humid (rainy days) weather?
It is always humid here, but I want sincerely to bake my own bread, but it doesn’t want to rise in this hot-humid weather.
yes! i live in tennessee and it was raining today. i made it exactly as the recipe said to… and kneaded in a healthy amount of flour and it came out perfectly. it was my first time making bread! i let the bread rise while sitting on the stove top of the warming oven, and i used pillsbury “better for bread” flour.
Made two loaves this weekend and they turned out great. Used King Arthur flour and set a timer for kneading as suggested. I can see where people might not knead a full five minutes without a timer. Thanks for the recipe!
P.S.- I agree with Ros (above) about butter vs. margarine
I found you through Google and made this recipe today. It turned out perfectly! I have handled and shaped dough before but never made it, and I think that helped a lot. I knew when it didn’t feel “quite right” and I added water or flour as needed. Thanks for the detailed recipe and your unusually verbose recipe-writing style. It certainly made me feel better as I was going through the recipe.
I just want to say thanks for taking the time to make such a detailed demonstration. I have not tried the recipe yet but plan on using it today. This is my first attempt at bread and I am very excited. Thanks again!
I followed your recipe but made rolls out of it. This is my first success attempt at making bread THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MY daughter and I literally stuffed ourselves with these as it’s been forever since we’ve had homemade bread and it’s our absolute favorite. I can’t believe how simple this was. Thank you so much for the time you spend teaching us things like this, please know it is very much appreciated!
We have a recipe for homemade bread and many more bread items that are so simple and fool proof. All of our recipes are start to eating in 60 minutes or less including cinnamon rolls and braids.
I LOVE this recipe! This is my go-to bread recipe and it comes out perfect almost every time. My family just devours it every time.