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Do you bake homemade bread? I go through phases where I do more often, and then times when I just don’t. I think I forget how quick it can be, because if I remembered, I think I’d make it a lot more often.
This fast bread recipe is just 4 ingredients and is ready to eat in under an hour…start to finish!
Isn’t it pretty?! I brushed the top with a little butter for added flavor and shine after taking it out of the oven. Sadly, just like with people–pretty doesn’t always equal good and I made one fatal error with this loaf that I’ll warn you in advance not to make: I forgot the salt.
I’ve made this bread recipe a dozen times. It’s delicious! But bread without salt tastes like paste and there is (to my knowledge) no saving it once it’s baked. So I’ll say it again: Don’t forget the salt!
Easy Bread Recipe
One of the things that makes this bread recipe so easy is that there is no kneading involved, it’s all made in the mixer.
Mix your yeast with a little honey and warm water and let it sit until it’s foamy. Then add in your flour and salt and mix for several minutes. It’s my perfect kind of loaf…simple and rustic. No worries about perfection here. Just plop your dough down and stretch it out a bit into a longish shape.
I use my baking stone, but you could use a sheet pan as well (I’d probably either give a metal pan a spray or sprinkle a little cornmeal under the loaf to prevent sticking. Not necessary with a stone, though).
Baking stones tend to be either love ’em or hate ’em and I am definitely in the LOVE category. We use ours for everything from homemade pizza and cookies, to chicken nuggets, to bread of course!
Let it sit, covered with a clean towel, for about 20 minutes while your oven preheats. Cut a few slits in the top and bake it up.
Brushing it with butter is optional. I like the pretty shine and extra bit of flavor it adds, but it’s really not necessary.
Click here to see more fast bread recipes to make dinnertime prep easier.
I like to serve this with…well, just about anything. It’s perfect as is alongside a bowl of soup (this loaf was set to join a big pot of creamy chicken and rice soup), or anything saucy to dip it in (I’m thinking spaghetti or lasagna). But slather some butter, and maybe some honey or jam on top, and we love it with just about any main dish.
Give this one hour Italian bread recipe a try today!
Here’s the recipe:
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups warm water
- 1 Tblsp honey
- 1 Tblsp active dry yeast
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 3 1/2 - 4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
Instructions
- Combine water, honey and yeast in mixing bowl
- Let sit about 5 minutes, or until foamy
- Add flour and salt
- Using dough hook (if you have one) mix in flour until dough is not sticky to the touch. (Start with 3 1/2 cups and add small amounts until proper consistency is reached). This usually takes about 5 minutes of mixing.
- Scoop dough out of bowl and onto baking sheet or baking stone, forming into a longish loaf
- Cover loaf with a clean towel and let sit for about 20 minutes while you preheat oven to 400 degrees
- Using sharp knife, cut slits in top of loaf
- Bake at 400 for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown
- Optional: brush top of loaf with butter before slicing
This looks delicious! Do you think it could be successfully made with sugar instead of honey? Nothing against honey, I just don’t have any in my cupboard right now!
I think sugar would work just fine!
It worked and it was delicious!
E recently posted…Earth Day and Zero Waste
Yay! So glad you liked it. 🙂
Cannot have sugar or honey. Can Stevia be used? Thank you.
I have never used Stevia, so I can’t speak from experience. But a quick Google search indicates that Stevia can be used in place of sugar in bread baking. If you try it, I’d love to know how it turns out!
Stuck to my stone and it was more work to get it off the stone than too actually make the bread…but…oh my…so worth it!!
Oh no! I’m glad you enjoyed it anyway. I wonder if sprinkling a little cornmeal or flour on your stone might help until the stone is more seasoned?
Hi,
I just made this wonderful bread, but the top of it is not nice and brown, what did I do wrong?
Hmmm, I would check your oven temp first, making sure it’s hot enough. I don’t usually brush mine with anything, but if it’s not browning I would maybe try brushing with an egg wash (beat an egg with a bit of water and brush over the top before baking).