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Bread

Excellent Household Bread

A simple yeast bread made with flour, salt, yeast, and warm water.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 4 ingredients
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Excellent Household Bread

Ingredients

Directions

The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point. The book gives no cooking times either; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.

Prepare the dough

  1. In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt.

  2. In a separate bowl, dissolve the yeast in warm water.

  3. Pour the yeast mixture into the flour mixture and stir until combined.

  4. Knead the dough on a floured surface for about 10 minutes until smooth.

  5. Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover, and let it rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Shape and bake

  1. Punch down the dough, shape it into a loaf, and place it in a greased loaf pan.

  2. Let it rise again until doubled, about 30 minutes.

  3. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

  4. Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

All-purpose flour
Provides the gluten-forming proteins that build the dough's structure and chew.
Yeast
Produces carbon dioxide gas as it ferments, making the dough rise and become airy.
Warm water
Hydrates the flour so gluten can form and activates the yeast.
Salt
Strengthens gluten and controls yeast activity for better flavor and texture.

The step that matters

Let the dough rise until doubled. Rising develops flavor and an airy crumb. Underproofed dough stays dense, while overproofed dough can collapse or lose structure, so check size rather than only the clock.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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