by CD Gozzi

Created on: January 10, 2009   Last Updated: January 28, 2009

Making bread at home is a great way to increase the nutritional content of your diet. Although it can be a bit time consuming, homemade bread has no preservatives, is less expensive than store bought, and has greater dietary bang for your buck. The best part is the wonderful smell of the bread baking in your oven.

Store bought bread is mass-produced and the manufacturers use the cheapest ingredients at the expense of texture, flavor, and nutrition. Ingredients such as high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, and processed white flour create the tasteless loaves available in the grocery stores. Emulsifiers, preservatives, and other chemicals allow manufacturers' bread to have a shelf life'. Why not try making your own bread that is full of flavor and is actually good for you?

Before you begin your bread making adventure, make sure you have the following equipment:

Two large mixing bowls make sure they are not cold. You can pour hot water in, and then dump it out to warm them up. One should be dried and coated with a thin coat of butter or vegetable oil spray.

Large cutting board or surface to knead the dough on.

One sturdy wooden spoon to stir the dough.

Measuring cups and spoons.

9" x 5" bread pan. You will want to either spray with non-stick vegetable spray or sprinkle corn meal on the bottom.

Hand or flour sack towel to cover the bread dough as it rises.

It is much easier to understand the nutritional value of food when you can pronounce the ingredients. For homemade bread, you can follow this recipe.

cup milk

1 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoons salt

1 tablespoons butter, melted

1 package active dry yeast

2 to 3 cups unbleached flour

Nonstick cooking spray for the bowl and bread pan

Dissolve the yeast following the directions on the package and add it to one of your warmed bowls. Add the butter, milk, sugar, and salt to the water and yeast mixture. Mix until well blended. Take your sturdy spoon and start adding the flour, cup at a time until it is all combined. It will be very sticky at first but as you add more flour, it will become more firm.

Pour out onto a flour-dusted board and knead until smooth. This usually takes about ten minutes what a great upper body workout! You may need to add a little more flour if it sticks to your hands or the board.

Place the kneaded dough into the greased bowl, cover with the flour sack towel, and allow it to rise in a warm place for an hour. Do not disturb the dough during this time or it may fall.

Once the dough has risen, it should have

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