by Effie Moore Salem

Created on: January 12, 2009   Last Updated: December 07, 2010

Bread making is an art and requires meticulous details to type of flour used and to the measurements of ingredients. Making bread is time consuming but the finished product - after a few practice sessions - is exhilarating and well worth the effort. It is not quite the same to use a bread making machine, although often times this is easier. True bread makers get involved in the process and knead and pound and get flour all over the kitchen counter and often on themselves.

It's the gluten content of the flour that gives it its elasticity and while regular flour can be used successfully, for a more perfect loaf, buy flour designed for bread making. The easier way is to buy flour already prepared for bread machines but instead, follow the instructions for the hand made variety. The following four steps is about all there is to successfully baking your own bread.

1. Assemble the ingredients and utensils: On your counter line up everything needed. For this recipe, you will measure out 51/4 to 61/4 cups of flour. Why the inexact amount? You will not use all this flour at once but it will be needed as you kneed the bread. Set this aside.

2. The liquid ingredients and the yeast: Into a medium sized saucepan pour 21/4 cups of milk - buttermilk if you prefer - stir in 2 tbsp. of sugar, 1 tbsp. butter, 1 tsp. salt and one packet of yeast and warm until 120 degrees. Careful not to get the milk hot or it will kill the yeast.

3. Kneading the dough: Place the warm liquid in a medium sized bowl and mix in the flour until the dough becomes heavy and thick and will not accept any more flour. Remove the dough to a floured surface and begin to knead by pressing down with the heel of your hand and folding over the dough. You do this until the dough is smooth and elastic and is not sticky. A little extra flour may be adding to the kneading surface if this happens.

Kneading the dough is good arm exercise and is somewhat awkward until you get the rhythm of it, but it is an important step. What you are doing is injecting air into the dough and this is what results in a light load of bread or into a heavy brick.

4. Letting it rise: You cover the dough with a large upturned bowl and let it rise to twice its size. This will take about an hour. Then you punch the dough down, divide into two loaves and shape into loaves. You place these - seam down - into two glass load pans. Again you let the dough rise until it reaches the top of the pans or beyond and you bake in a 375 oven thirty or forty minutes.

For convenience, once you have gotten the process down pat and are sure of your ability, why not double the recipe and freeze the extras. For festive occasions you can create various shapes of bread and share your delights with your friends and relatives.

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