I’ve always found an escape baking. It’s always sort of been my “go-to” thing when I’m bored or having a bad day….or when I’m having an awesome day for that matter. Somehow, my house just feels more homey with a fresh baked good on the counter.

One of my favorite things to bake is homemade bread. One afternoon last week, I decided it would be nice to have some bread to go with our dinner. I set out to make my favorite crusty bread, and then realized it wouldn’t be ready until about 8pm….just a tad late for dinner. That’s the problem with most bread recipes….you have to plan in advance. When I’m following my own advice and menu planning, it all works out great. But, on nights when life gets “real” and dinner-time creeps up on me, having a QUICK bread recipe in my back pocket was a life-saver.

While this recipe doesn’t quite compare to my favorite bread recipes that require a bit more planning and rise time, it is tasty, easy, and literally puts fresh bread on the table in 60 minutes….ONE HOUR from beginning to bread. Beat that.

one hour bread

Here’s what you’ll need to make One Hour Bread:

Ingredients

1/2 cup  milk
1/4 cup sugar
6 t active dry yeast
2 t salt
3 T butter
1 1/2 cups warm water
5 cups all-purpose flour
To Prepare
1. Heat milk, sugar, salt, and butter substitute in small saucepan until butter melts and sugar dissolves.
2. Cool the milk mixture until it is lukewarm. If it is too hot, it will kill your yeast!
3. While the milk mixture is cooling, mix the yeast and warm water together in bowl. (I like to do this in my Kitchen Aid mixer, so I can easily add in all my ingredients. Less mess to clean up this way.) The mixture should get nice and “frothy” after a few minutes.
4. Slowly combine the yeast mixture and the milk mixture. Add in the flour.
5. Mix on LOW speed for 1-2 minutes.(I use my paddle attachment for the first 30 seconds or so, and then switch to my dough hook for the remainder.) Stop mixing when the dough comes together to form a ball. While you are doing this, pre–heat your oven to 170.
6. Place dough in a greased bowl, turning once to coat the dough.
7. Let the dough rise for 10 minutes, next to the warming oven.
8. Shape the dough into a loaf and put into a greased loaf pan.
9. Let the loaf rise in the oven (170) for 10 minutes.
10. Bump up your oven temp to 425 and bake the loaf for about 25 minutes. (Oven times may vary.)
11. I like to run a stick of butter over the top of my bread AS SOON as I take it out of the oven.
You can also roll your dough into small rolls. If you choose to make rolls, lower your baking time to about 10-12 minutes. Brush the tops with butter while warm.
This recipe was adapted from Food.com