It's totally easy.: the mysteries of bread making revealed

so i think we will start with what was the hardest and most intimidating thing for me. it took me FOR-EV-ER to figure out to make bread. i couldn't understand what i was doing wrong. i even went out and bought a breadmaker but i still couldn't do it. the bread sank 85% of the time. it was so frustrating. but i could not let bread defeat me!

once i finally figured out how to do it and do it right, it never sank again. perfect bread every time.

and it's easy!

now that i know how, i can't believe it took me so long to figure it out.

this is a recipe for onion rolls that i got from allrecipes. you can use any bread recipe you can find. the ingredients/measurements are what's important, not the directions.

so the 5 steps are:
1.) proof the yeast
2.) mix everything together
3.) let it rise
4.) let it rise again
5.) bake

STEP 1: proof the yeast

so what is proofing? it's getting the yeast going before you mix it together with the flour. proofing the yeast will also tell you whether the yeast is still good or not. no more wasting flour on yeast you aren't sure about.

get all your proofing stuff out. this includes any liquids (not including eggs), sweeteners (sugar, honey, agave, etc.) and yeast. my recipe uses milk, water, sugar, and yeast.

heat your liquids. ideally you want it between 125*-130*. basically you want it pretty warm but not too hot that you can't stick your finger in it.

put the sweetener and yeast in a jar.

mix your warm liquid in

set the timer for 10 minutes.

after 10 minutes, your mixture will have a frothy head on it. that means it worked! woohoo!

STEP 2: mix everything together

get out all the rest of the stuff you need for your recipe. mine called for 3 cups of white flour but i put in 1 1/2 cup unbleached all purpose flour, 1 cup whole wheat flour and 1/2 cup ground flax seed. we looove ground flax seed. it make everything taste more buttery.

mix the "everything else" then pour in the yeast mixture.

NOTE: you don't NEED a mixer for kneading. you can do it in a bowl/on the counter with your hands it just takes way longer.

it might not all get mixed in right away.

so put it on the counter and knead by hand for a minute or 2 then put it back in the mixer.

kneading, kneading, kneading...

you want to knead for like 5 minutes or so.

all done kneading.

when you are done kneading, form the dough into a nice little ball and coat it in olive oil. the olive oil keeps the dough from drying out when it's rising.

cover with a towel.

STEP 3: let it rise

let it sit on the counter, covered, for like 1 - 1 1/2 hours.

STEP 4: let it rise again

i made rolls, obviously. if you are making a loaf, skip the dough cutting part. form the dough into a log and drop it in a loaf pan.