First-Timer Italian Wheat Bread and a Featured Guest
12 comments » First-Timer Italian Wheat Bread
Hi, I’m Mandy. I’m a virtual friend of Anne’s and you can find out more about me at Mandy’s Life After 30. I’ve just begun what I call really cooking since December 2009. At that time, I committed to making my family’s meals and desserts from scratch. Recently I made my first ever homemade bread. Confession: Until last week, I had never even bought yeast in my life. I was very nervous! But if there is one thing that cooking and baking (and my friend Anne) has taught me, it’s NOT to give up! You have to be bold and try something new. Combine that fearless attitude with carefully reading recipes then you can take on a food challenge too.
Here is my recipe, along with several photos, for “First Timer Italian Wheat Bread”:
Ingredients:
3 cups of wheat flour (I used “unbleached white wheat flour” by King Arthur)
2 tsp yeast (I used one yeast packet)
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp honey or agave nectar
1 tsp Italian dry seasoning
1/3 tsp garlic powder
1 and ¾ cup of warm (not boiling) water
Preparations:
Mix 1 and ¾ cups of warm water with the flour, yeast and salt in a bowl. Let the mixture rise until it nearly doubles in size, about 30 minutes.
Original dough:
Add in the remaining ingredients. Knead with your hands until mixed and sticky. (You may want to place cooking spray on your hands). Let the dough sit and rise once more, approximately 30 minutes again. After that time, knead again one final time. Place the dough in a greased bread pan. Let the dough rise in the bread pan for 30 minutes. Then bake in a preheated oven for 40 minutes at 350 degrees. Let cool for about five minutes before slicing to desired size and width. (About 12 slices). (Total prep and baking time when baking by hand is about 2 hours and ten minutes).
Finished bread loaf:
Slice to your desired size and shape. Enjoy! Even my picky two year old liked this bread.
If you have tips for making your own bread by hand, please leave them in the comments. I’d love to hear more from other bakers on how they perfect homemade bread!
Thank you Anne for letting me guest write on your blog! You know I adore you and that I’m always coming here for great family recipe ideas!
Hi Mandy! So are you ready to open a bakery now? I've never done anything with yeast either. Now I'm tempted to follow you and try making this delicious bread. It looks good
Thanks Anne and Mandy!!!
Yummy! I just searched for a good wheat bread recipe that doesn't require a bread machine earlier today! Thanks for sharing
The first and only thing I've ever made with yeast was Pioneer Woman's cinnamon rolls. They were definitely worth it and I had nothing to be scared of! Congrats Mandy on your accomplishment and thanks to Anne for the feature!
Great guest post and a warm welcome to Mandy! That bread looks delicious. I love the smell of fresh baking bread as well. The next step, make your own starter! I'm off to check out Mandy's blog now. Have a great day Anne!
That bread looks great! I'm a little afraid of the yeast myself. Maybe I should give this recipe a try.
Mmmmmm… I can smell it now! Great job on doing bread from scratch! That is impressive.
mmmm, that looks delicious!
Looks yummy!
Thank you everyone for the warm comments! They are just as inviting as that bread was for me to eat!
And big thanks to Anne for allowing me the opportunity to share this recipe and my story with you! Please stop by my place if you do make this recipe and let me know what you think or any tips that you've learned while making it! All the best to each of you!
Cheers!
Mandy
http://www.mandylifeafter30.com
That's a beautiful loaf of bread! Love the heart cut-out too!
I love your energy with food-making and writing, Mandy! I envision you dancing around the kitchen banging pots and pans around while amazing wafts of homemade goodness permeate the house. Don't tell me if this isn't the case, I want to believe it.
Great post, and thanks for introducing us to Annie!
~Carrie
Mmmm… Nothing like the smell of homemade bread in the oven. Annie, Mandy, looks like a terrific recipe! I love the photo with the heart cut-out! I have a wonderful recipe for an easy (and giagantic) Shepherd's bread on my site. Stop by and give it a gander if you have the time:
http://tinyurl.com/23abvct
Stopping by from SITS, Jenn