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

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 at baking bread when I was a kid and the loaves turned out like 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 (before inflation)! By making your own bread without fancy appliances, you'll certainly save money, plus get an arm workout!

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

Go get the recipe, make the bread, then come back here to leave your comments below!

Bake Your Own Bread—The Easy Way!

It is quite easy to bake 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!

Eating bread still warm from the oven and spread with fresh butter really can't be beat. It's truly the simple pleasures in life that sustain and fulfill us.

Looks Like Real Beautiful Bread (because it is!)

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). Honestly? 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 (use our Fahrenheit to Celsius converter here on our site!) 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.

Use a Thermometer... For Testing Oven Temperature for Proofing

For testing the temperature of the water for the yeast AND for proofing the bread, 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 great!

PROOFING: I set the oven to its lowest setting which was 150°F and 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. 

I covered the bread with an old clean (slightly dampened) dish towel draped on top of the bread tins. I realized that at 85°F, the towel would not set on fire so I felt safe 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!

Don't forget to get your free "Six Simple Steps" eBook where I share how to dehydrate food safely!

AND Share the recipe with your bread-baking buddies! And while you're here, pop on over to my recipe for Herb Bread, it can be sweet or savory, and it's easy to make and bake!