Ingredients
- 2 cups warm water (around 105-115F)
- 1 Tablespoon active dry yeast
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 2 Tablespoons avocado oil
- 4 – 5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Make the Dough
First, you’ll want to make sure your yeast is good to go. In a large bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer, stir together the warm water, yeast, and a little pinch of the honey. Let that sit for ~5-10 minutes. If it gets foamy and bubbly, your yeast is active and you’re ready to move on. If not, you’ll need to start over with fresh yeast.
Add the rest of the honey, the kosher salt, oil, and 3 cups of the flour to the bowl. Mix everything together until it’s combined.
Add another cup of flour and mix again. If you’re using a mixer, keep it running and add more flour, about a half cup at a time, until the dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl. The final dough should be smooth and just a little sticky to a clean finger.
Now, you’ll knead the dough. In a mixer, this will take about 4-5 minutes on medium speed. If you’re doing it by hand, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for ~5-8 minutes.
Rise and Shape the Loaves
Grease a large bowl with a little oil, place the dough inside, and turn it over once to coat. Cover the bowl with a dish towel and let it rise in a warm spot for about 1 1/2 hours, or until it has doubled in size.
Once it has risen, punch the dough down to get rid of the air bubbles. Divide it into two equal pieces. Shape each piece into a long log and place them in two greased 9×5 inch loaf pans.
Cover the pans with a lightweight dish towel and let the dough rise again for another ~45 minutes to an hour. You’re looking for it to rise about an inch above the rim of the pans.
Bake the Bread
While the loaves are on their second rise, get your oven preheating to 350F.
Bake the bread for ~30-33 minutes, until the tops are golden brown. A good way to check for doneness is to give the top of a loaf a gentle tap; it should sound hollow.
Flip the loaves out onto a wire cooling rack. You can brush the tops with a little butter while they’re still hot. Let them cool for at least 15 minutes before you slice into them.
Homemade Bread
Ingredients
- 2 cups warm water around 105-115F
- 1 Tablespoon active dry yeast
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 2 Tablespoons avocado oil
- 4 – 5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Combine warm water, yeast, and pinch of honey in large bowl. Let stand 5-10 minutes until foamy.
- Add remaining honey, salt, oil, and 3 cups flour. Mix until combined.
- Add 1 more cup flour, mix. Gradually add remaining flour until dough pulls from bowl sides.
- Knead with stand mixer 4-5 minutes until smooth and slightly sticky.
- Place in oiled bowl, cover with towel. Let rise 1.5 hours until doubled.
- Punch down dough. Divide in half, shape into logs. Place in greased 9×5 loaf pans.
- Cover, let rise 45-60 minutes until 1 inch above pan rim.
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Bake 30-33 minutes until golden and hollow-sounding when tapped.
- Remove from pans onto cooling rack. Brush tops with butter if desired.
- Cool 15 minutes before slicing.
Notes
