What’s better than Homemade Bread fresh out of the oven? It is the ultimate comfort food! I love the simplicity of this recipe, just 5 basic ingredients, and the best part, no kneading involved. Actually, the best part is the taste – It’s amazing! Plus, the bread is baked at high heat, in glass bowls that have been coated in butter, this helps form a rich buttery crust all around. This recipe, although not labor-intensive, does take some time, but believe me – it is definitely worth it.

One word of advice: Be sure to read all directions before starting so you can familiarize yourself with the process.

Ingredients

4 cups organic “Un-Bleached” All-Purpose Flour (I use 3 cups All-Purpose Flour, and 1 cup Whole Wheat Flour)

2 tsp. Salt
2 cups lukewarm Water
2 tsp. organic Evaporated Cane Juice Sugar
1 packet (or 2 teaspoons) Active-Dry Yeast

Room temperature organic grass-fed Butter, about 2 tablespoons to grease the bowls

Directions:

*measure scant cups of flour: scoop flour into the measuring cup using a separate spoon or measuring cup; level off with a knife. The flour should be just below the rim of the measuring cup.

Mixing the dough:

If you are using active-dry yeast: In a small mixing bowl, dissolve the sugar into the water. Sprinkle the yeast over top. There is no need to stir it up. Let it stand for about 10 to 15 minutes or until the mixture is foamy and/or bubbling just a bit.

This step will ensure that the yeast is active. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. When the yeast-water-sugar mixture is foamy, stir it up, and add it to the flour bowl. Mix until the flour is absorbed.

Cover bowl with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm spot to rise for at least an hour. This is how to create a slightly warm spot for your bread to rise in: Turn the oven on at any temperature for one minute, then turn it off. Note: Do Not allow the oven to preheat up to 350ºF. and then heat at that setting for 1 minute – this will be too hot. Just let the oven preheat for a total of 1 minute – it likely won’t get above 300ºF. The goal is to just create a slightly warm environment for the bread. If you have the time to let it rise for 1.5 to 2 hours – this will help the second rise go more quickly.

Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Grease two oven-safe bowls (I use 1 quart size Pyrex bowls) with about a tablespoon of butter each (use a lot of butter, a whole tablespoon per bowl to prevent bread from sticking, and to form a nice crust). Using two forks, punch down your dough, scraping it from the sides of the bowl, which it will be clinging to. As you scrape it down try to turn the dough up onto itself if that makes sense. You want to loosen the dough entirely from the sides of the bowl, and you want to make sure you’ve punched it down. Take your two forks and divide the dough into two equal portions — eye the center of the mass of dough, and starting from the center and working out, pull the dough apart with the two forks. Then scoop up each half and place into your prepared bowls. This part can be a little messy — the dough is very wet and will slip all over the place. Using small forks or forks with short tines makes this easier — my small salad forks work best; my dinner forks make it harder. It’s best to scoop it up fast and plop it in the bowl in one fell swoop. Let the dough rise for about 20 to 30 minutes on the counter top near the oven (or near a warm spot) or until it has risen to just below or above (depending on what size bowl you are using) the top of the bowls. (Note: I do not do the warm-oven trick for the second rise. Simply set my bowls on top of oven, so that they are in a warm spot. Twenty minutes in this spot usually is enough for my loaves.)

Bake for 15 minutes at 425° F. Reduce the heat to 375º F. and bake for 15 to 17 minutes longer. Remove from the oven and immediately turn the loaves out onto cooling racks. If you’ve greased the bowls well, the loaves should fall right out onto the cooling racks. Let cool for 10 minutes before slicing.

Ingredients

4 cups organic “Un-Bleached” All-Purpose Flour (I use 3 cups All-Purpose Flour, and 1 cup Whole Wheat Flour)
2 tsp. Salt
2 cups lukewarm Water
2 tsp. organic Evaporated Cane Juice Sugar
1 packet (or 2 teaspoons) Active-Dry Yeast

Room temperature organic grass-fed Butter, about 2 tablespoons to grease the bowls

Directions:

*measure scant cups of flour: scoop flour into the measuring cup using a separate spoon or measuring cup; level off with a knife. The flour should be just below the rim of the measuring cup.

Mixing the dough:

If you are using active-dry yeast: In a small mixing bowl, dissolve the sugar into the water. Sprinkle the yeast over top. There is no need to stir it up. Let it stand for about 10 to 15 minutes or until the mixture is foamy and/or bubbling just a bit. This step will ensure that the yeast is active. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. When the yeast-water-sugar mixture is foamy, stir it up, and add it to the flour bowl. Mix until the flour is absorbed.

Cover bowl with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm spot to rise for at least an hour. This is how to create a slightly warm spot for your bread to rise in: Turn the oven on at any temperature for one minute, then turn it off. Note: Do Not allow the oven to preheat up to 350ºF. and then heat at that setting for 1 minute – this will be too hot. Just let the oven preheat for a total of 1 minute – it likely won’t get above 300ºF. The goal is to just create a slightly warm environment for the bread. If you have the time to let it rise for 1.5 to 2 hours – this will help the second rise go more quickly.

Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Grease two oven-safe bowls (I use 1 quart size Pyrex bowls) with about a tablespoon of butter each (use a lot of butter, a whole tablespoon per bowl to prevent bread from sticking, and to form a nice crust). Using two forks, punch down your dough, scraping it from the sides of the bowl, which it will be clinging to. As you scrape it down try to turn the dough up onto itself if that makes sense. You want to loosen the dough entirely from the sides of the bowl, and you want to make sure you’ve punched it down. Take your two forks and divide the dough into two equal portions — eye the center of the mass of dough, and starting from the center and working out, pull the dough apart with the two forks. Then scoop up each half and place into your prepared bowls. This part can be a little messy — the dough is very wet and will slip all over the place. Using small forks or forks with short tines makes this easier — my small salad forks work best; my dinner forks make it harder. It’s best to scoop it up fast and plop it in the bowl in one fell swoop. Let the dough rise for about 20 to 30 minutes on the counter top near the oven (or near a warm spot) or until it has risen to just below or above (depending on what size bowl you are using) the top of the bowls. (Note: I do not do the warm-oven trick for the second rise. Simply set my bowls on top of oven, so that they are in a warm spot. Twenty minutes in this spot usually is enough for my loaves.)

Bake for 15 minutes at 425° F. Reduce the heat to 375º F. and bake for 15 to 17 minutes longer. Remove from the oven and immediately turn the loaves out onto cooling racks. If you’ve greased the bowls well, the loaves should fall right out onto the cooling racks. Let cool for 10 minutes before slicing.