If you’ve always wanted to make your own bread – or if you’re looking for the best, simple breads to make – these are the recipes for you! You will see how easy it really can be to make bread and, most importantly, you’ll have success.
Can bread really be simple? Can whole wheat breads really be soft and delicious? Why talk about making bread anyway when it’s so easy to buy?
If you’ve ever asked these questions then I’m happy to have answers for you:
- Yes, after years of experimenting I can definitely say that good homemade bread can be simple to make.
- Yes, there are recipes that result in 100% whole wheat bread that is so good you will be proud to share it with everyone.
- For centuries bread has been the staff of life. There’s something so elemental and grounding about baking bread to serve your family. Plus fresh bread out of the oven can never compare to store bought.
What are the basic ingredients of bread?
The ingredients for most breads are simple and usually few – water, flour, yeast, and salt. This makes homemade bread super cheap (think about that the next time you pay $5+ for one loaf…).
What are the basic steps to making bread?
With yeast breads, most of the time it takes is just waiting for the rise(s). The hands-on time is pretty minimal (especially if you have a mixer to knead the dough if it’s called for). The basic steps are:
- Mix the ingredients.
- Knead – by hand or by machine.
- First rise in a bowl.
- Punch down and shape.
- Second rise in pan.
- Bake and cool.
And the result? When you bite into a piece of bread you have made for the first time, you will feel like you can do anything!
But we all start out a bit scared by the thought of making bread.
I totally know that the thought of making bread scares many people because I used to be scared, too. What if it didn’t rise? What if it tasted odd? What if it looked weird?
I’ve also read a lot of recipes for breads that involve way more time, effort, and know-how than I ever want to put in the kitchen.
But I’m here to say that you CAN make breads successfully!! Maybe not every complicated bread out there (croissants, anyone?), but you can have a handful of go-to bread recipes that taste amazing, save you money, and free you from store bought bread.
AOC’s motto has always been: simple, frugal, and fun – that’s how you have a simple homemade life in the kitchen, in my experience. The following simple bread recipes all fall under these guidelines.
I’ve listed them in order of easiest to slightly less easy, which actually means starting with a baking powder recipe and moving on to easy yeast doughs.
All of these recipes fit one category or another, so with them you will be able to make sandwiches, serve with a soup, and make biscuits and gravy, just to name a few!
Simple Breads Anyone Can Make
Start with: Whole Wheat Baking Powder Biscuits
For a quick win, make this fast-to-make bread to go with soups and stews, to serve as a base for breakfast sausage-and-egg sandwiches, or make ham or turkey “slider” sandwiches.
This recipe for amazing whole wheat flaky biscuits is hands-down my favorite and I’ve got a step-by-step picture tutorial for you to follow that takes all the guesswork out of it.
Bottom line: Control of ingredients at a cost of less than $1.50 for the whole batch.
Dip your toes into the world of yeast with: Easy Artisan Bread
This is hands-down the easiest yeast recipe I’ve ever made and it turns out wonderful every time with no kneading and hardly any hands-on time.
Easy Artisan Bread is made in an enameled cast iron dutch oven to replicate that famous artisan-type crust. Your family and friends will think you are an amazing bread maker when you serve them this – and you are well on your way to being one!
Bottom line: feeling of super-hero power with the first bite at a cost of about .50 versus a $4 to $5 store bought loaf.
Finally, make the 100% whole wheat soft sandwich bread you thought you never could with: Easy Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread
This is it guys- when you make this bread you won’t need to ever buy a loaf of bread from the store again (if you choose not to…). What a great feeling!
If someone had told me a few years ago that I wouldn’t be buying bread anymore I would’ve laughed at them (with visions of some of my previous “leaden” loaf attempts running through my head…).
But I’m here to say it’s doable. Really. So make it your goal to try it and see if you like it.
Bottom line: Ma Ingalls feeding her family at a cost of about .70 cents a loaf.
Bread Making Q & A
What flour is best for bread making?
While you can use all-purpose flour for a white bread, you’ll get the added health benefits and fiber from whole wheat flours. And a flour with a higher protein content will produce lots of gluten which helps your bread to rise.
The biggest confusion for people, I think, when using whole wheat flours is the difference between whole wheat flour and whole wheat pastry flour. Here’s what you need to know:
- The protein content in flours is what makes them different and best for different kinds of breads.
- You want more protein to help develop gluten in yeast and sourdough breads which you’ll find in hard wheat varieties.
- You want less protein in fast rising recipes like biscuits that use baking soda and/or powder for rising.
Whole wheat flour is typically made from hard red wheat, a wheat higher in protein (14%) than all-purpose and pastry.
Whole wheat white flour is made from hard white wheat, with a lighter texture but still high in protein content (12-13%).
Note: bread flour also has a high protein content (12-13%) and is most often made from a hard spring wheat. It’s most often a white flour, though, and harder to find in a whole wheat version.
Whole wheat pastry flour is made from soft white wheat with a lower protein content (8-9%), making it great for cookies, cakes, quick breads, muffins and the like. I found I can substitute this 1:1 for white flour in these recipes.
As a comparison, all purpose flour has a 9-12% protein content, which is why it works for both bread and cookies, but of course has many of the nutrients stripped out in processing.
How do I know I’ve kneaded enough?
If your dough springs back immediately when lightly pressed and doesn’t tear when you pull it, it’s been kneaded enough and is ready to rise. If not, knead for 1-2 minutes longer or until you get this result.
How long does homemade bread last?
Store bread in an airtight container or bag for 2-3 days at room temperature. For longer storage, slice, bag, and freeze for 2-4 months. The refrigerator causes bread to go stale, so isn’t a preferred storage.
Ready for more simple bread recipes?
Tutorial: Simple French Baguettes Recipe – The Bread You Can’t Stop Eating
Quick & Tender Homemade Hamburger Buns {or Breadsticks}
Or try your hand at making sourdough!
How To Grow, Keep, & Use A Sourdough Starter
Easy Sourdough Artisan Bread Recipe
Easy Homemade Whole Wheat Sourdough English Muffins
And you can see all AOC’s simple breads here: Best Bread Recipes.
This article has been updated – it was originally published in July of 2010.
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Louise says
Can u give me a simple sourdough crust recipe which I can use with my discarded starter?
Jami says
What do you mean by “sourdough crust?” Like a pizza crust?
Rachel says
Hi – I rediscovered your blog again tonight and love it! Great tips for a family starting to cut out processed/store bought foods and get back to the basics! Just made the ranch dressing tonight and it tastes wonderful. We were starting to get grossed out by the chemicals and ‘who knows what’ is in so many store bought foods. On another note, I see many recipes calling for whole wheat ‘pastry’ flour. I just bought organic whole wheat flour. Do I mix some white flour in with it to make it more pastry-like? I would love your opinion on this before I attempt your bread recipes.
thanks so much!
Elephant's Eye says
I linked back to you from this post
[email protected] An Oregon Cottage says
Missie- Whoo-hoo! Success- now on to pitas. 😉
Missie says
Jami, I made your biscuit recipe tonight to go along with my cowboy meatloaf. They were a hit! I used 2c whole wheat pastry flour and 1c unbleached all purpose flour. My husband said that these biscuits were “better than any you could go buy in a restaurant!” High praise indeed, my friend. Thanks for posting the recipes and how-tos to go along with them. That helps immensely!
Now off to try your pita bread later in the week!
Gail @ Faithfulness Farm says
Great post and great series! I’ll be looking forward to more posts!
Blessings!
Gail
Smockity Frocks says
Those look WONDERFUL! Thank you for linking to my Tutorial Tuesday!
ana @ iMadeItSo says
i like how you shared this in baby steps! i’ve heard good things about the artisan bread method… but never tried it.
Kristin says
About 3 months ago I decided that If I was going to start making our daily bread then I better quit buying it! And you know what? My family is in bread heaven now! I don’t know why I waited so long! It’s the best and it’s true what they say…”Practice makes perfect!” I hope others will be inspired to make it too!
Lexa says
Jami- Well, you just might have given me the push to try making my own bread. Thanks so much for the great information.
shopannies says
thanks for your tutorial
Aagaard Farms says
Awesome! Thanks for sharing all the great info! I think your biscuit recipe is very similar to my Grandmother’s, which I make all the time – so easy and so good!
Mary W says
I found you relatively recently when you had a guest post over at $5 dinners. Looking through your site initially what I enjoyed most were your basic recipes (catsup, mayo, salad dressing, etc). I’m really looking forward to this week.
Olga says
Making bread at home does save money. I make mine in a bread machine. But I’m kind of getting bored with it, so I was thinking that I should try baking bread in the oven. The buscits look and sound great. This is something I should try (I’ve never made them before).
I really like the idea of Back to Basics Week! And like Sarah, I’m looking forward to the rest of the series.
[email protected] An Oregon Cottage says
Cheryl- Me, too! Took me the longest time to figure that out…
Sarah- love the tip, I’m going to try it as my family is always trying to saw away at a frozen loaf. 🙂
Olga- I hope you try them, glad you are on board for the week!
Mary- so glad you are finding things that are helpful to you!
Lexa- I hope so!!
Minerva- Yeah- I just made the pitas last week too.
Kristen- Good for you- you’re so right. 🙂
StrivingSimply says
Those look so good! Do you know of any resource that will explain what you’ve done wrong to your bread? Mine is consistently crummy (literally), and we like soft, chewy bread.
Minerva's Garden says
This is a wonderful post–thank you! I make most of our bread, and I have to say that your 100% whole wheat dinner rolls as well as the homemade pita bread are excellent and I put them in my regular rotation of recipes. I can’t wait to try the above recipes as well!
Rachel says
Delicious!
I love your step by step with pictures! So helpful for someone who might never have made homemade biscuits!
Sarah says
When I saw the topic for today, I wanted to share this helpful tip. (even though the post is a lot about biscuits.)
I make my own sandwich bread using the bread machine dough cycle and then bake it in the oven. I like the shape of the loaf from a pan better than the bread machine.
But the tip is I have found it easier to cut thinner slices (and please the hubby) by cutting the loaf the next day. Then I wrap in foil put in the freezer – we wouldn’t be close to consuming the whole loaf by the time it went bad if just left out. We take out one or two slices and defrost or fully toast in the toaster.
I’m looking forward to the rest of the series.
Cheryl B. says
I am obviously overworking my biscuit dough, and I was raised on biscuits my mother made! Will try the food processor. I am usually too lazy to get it out, but that would definitely be worth it!