The bread we make on Tabletop Homestead is simple and easily adaptable to a variety of ingredients. I've been making bread for about 30 years, and while breadmaking requires a bit of practice to learn the "feel" of good dough, this recipe is basic, dependable and good for beginners.
The ingredients in good bread are simple:
- Flour is the backbone. Bread flour is best, but all purpose works fine. Whole grain flours are a little trickier, so I recommend starting with white. Unbleached is great.
- Liquid: Any number of liquids can be used - water, milk, even whey. We like to use the whey leftover from making goat's milk cheese. Eggs can form part of the liquid portion.
- Yeast is the living organism makes the bread rise and is most commonly available in granulated form. We like to buy it in bulk for economy and keep it in the freezer.
- Sugar provides food for the yeast. You can use white
or brown sugar, honey, sorghum, whatever suits you.
- Salt enhances taste and keeps the yeast under control.
- Fat: A bit of fat helps make the bread tender. Almost any fat or oil will work. I've made bread successfully with vegetable oil, shortening, lard, olive oil and butter.
My basic recipe is based on 1 cup
of liquid and can be multiplied as needed. 1 cup of liquid will
make 1 small loaf. 1 and 1/2 cups makes a large loaf. For
each cup of liquid I use:
- 1 teaspoonful of yeast, but no more than 2 and 1/2 teaspoonfuls for multiple batches. (1 cup liquid - 1 teaspoonful yeast, 2 cups liquid - 2 teaspoonfuls yeast, more than 2 cups liquid - 2 and 1/2 teaspoonfuls yeast)
- 1 tablespoonful sweetening
- 1 teaspoonful salt (you can cut this back to taste)
- 1 tablespoonful fat
- approximately 2 to 2 1/2 cups flour
 Assemble ingredients.
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 Mix yeast and sweetening (honey
used here) in to the warm liquid. Here we're using whey, about
bathwater temperature.
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 Let the yeast mixture sit in a
warm place until it begins to foam. This is called "proofing the
yeast" and insures that the yeast is good.
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 After the yeast foams, add salt.
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