Tackling Bread Making

I've never been much of a baker. Too much of an exact science and following recipes has not always been my thing. However, you cannot beat fresh bread so I tried my best to simplify more complicated recipes. I never have yeast in the house so I've tried everything from self rising flour to flat breads. Some attempts were ok, but everything was mostly unimpressive. I caved and started using yeast. The importance of yeast is immeasurable in beer making and I now concede that it is very important in bread making. On a side note: Yeast is expensive in the grocery store. Three small packets will cost you close to $3.00. Making your own bread is supposed to be cheap! A quick search on Amazon will yield (pun intended) something like 2 pounds of the same yeast you find in the grocery store, but not in packet form for like $8-$10. This is the way to go.

For the Bread bowl, I spit a regular loaf in two and instead of letting it rise in a bread pan, I let it rise in a ball. Cut it as pictured and you have yourself an edible bowl to serve soup or chili in. Only mystery I have yet to solve is how to make the bowls smaller. The bowl is essentially a half a loaf of bread which is way too much for consumption during one meal. I might try cutting the dough into thirds or quarter it instead next time.

Anyway, here is the current status of my bread recipe:

3c flour
1/2 milk
1 Tbsp of olive oil
2 Tbsp of sugar
1 tsp of salt
1 package of yeast

Mix in Kitchen Aid or like machine, and add a 1/2 cup of warm water. Check the dough, sometimes more water is needed, but you do not want too much water so be careful. Place dough in oiled bread pan and let it rise for 30 minutes to an hour. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.

I've also been trying to double this recipe and freezing half of it for an easy bake the next day. Only problem is the dough doesn't rise nearly as much after being frozen. I'm working on this, but it may simply be a matter of science that I cannot fix. Regardless, it still tastes great.