I think if everyone knew how easy it is to make homemade bread, more families would be enjoying fresh bread.
I know everyone is busy, but for those of you that have a food processor and you aren’t using it to it’s full potential, listen up!
You can make bread dough in your food processor in just 45 seconds!
Cuisinart 14 cup Food Processor
45seconds–no, I’m not kidding.
That’s how close you are to fresh bread for dinner tonight.
It’s simple really, just gather your ingredients together, process and let it rise. Yeast breads need to rise twice, so while you are doing something else, the bread can be rising.
Think Sunday dinner.
I love a white bread that slices perfectly and toasts up beautifully.
The following is my Favorite White Bread recipe. It is easy and fast to make. I hope you will try it.
- 3 cups white flour, unbleached (preferably King Arthur)
- 1tblsp. sugar
- 1 packet Rapid Rise Yeast
- 1tsp. salt
- 2tblsp. unsalted butter
- 1 1/4 very warm water
Put all dry ingredients and unsalted butter in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse on and off to mix. Then, with the machine running, pour the water thru the feed tube. Let it run until you see the dough making a ball and pulling away from the sides of the food processor bowl. That takes about 45 seconds. Count it out if you need to.
The food processor will do all your kneading for you, so when the dough comes out you won’t have to any kneading.
Dust your hands with flour as you handle the dough.
Have a bowl oiled to put the dough in for the first rising. That may take about 45-60 minutes, depending on the temperature of your kitchen.
When it has risen to double it’s size, punch it down and remove it from the bowl. This dough can be shaped by hand and placed in an oiled loaf pan to rise a second time. The second rising should take 45-60 minutes. Have your oven preheated at 375 degrees.
When the bread rises to the top of the pan, it is ready to bake. If you let it rise to far, you will have to punch it down and start again, so don’t let it over rise. When it is ready to bake, put it in the oven and let it bake for about 45 minutes, until it’s golden brown.
It’s done when it sounds hollow when you tap it with your finger.
Using a pastry brush, brush about 2 tblsp. unsalted melted butter over the top and then remove from the loaf pan. Let it cool on a rack. ( Unless you are tempted to slice it and have a hot slice of bread with melted butter, right out of the oven. This is wonderful, I’ve done it many times. Nothing like hot, fresh bread!)
This recipe can be changed by adding some whole wheat flour, wheat berries, cracked wheat and different seeds like pumpkin, fennel or sunflower, making it a grain bread.
Once you feel comfortable making this simple bread in your food processor, you can move on to other types of breads.
Baguettes and peasant breads are easy too, as are different types of rolls. Once you start playing with flour and dough, you will have a “feel” for the dough–there will be no end to what you can do.
There are many cookbooks available with bread recipes. Any recipe can be adapted to a food processor.
The only thing you need to know is that whatever brand food processor you have, it must have a strong enough motor to make bread dough. My food processor of choice is Cuisinart. That’s because they have the power to make heavy dough without over heating.
You can read reviews on Cuisinart on this site. If Cuisinart is not in your budget, you need to read up on other brands to see what experiences other people have had with other brands. I have been using my Cuisinarts, ( I have 3) for over 30 years. All 3 work just like they did when I first bought them. Most small kitchen appliances do not last that long!
Once you realise all the different foods that can be prepared in your food processor, you’ll wonder how you ever did without it.
I hope that you will make this simple bread recipe–you will enjoy the taste of bread without chemicals.
By the way, this bread will keep wrapped tightly in your refrigerator for at least 2 weeks. But, it probably won’t last that long in your home.
Enjoy!!