When it comes to home made bread, nothing can beat the taste and flagrance of your own baking creations.  Take a slice of a loaf straight out of the oven, apply butter and enjoy its’ delicious flavor.  Would you like to have homemade bread whenever you get the craving?  You can make your own bread at home in your very own kitchen, and fill your house with the aroma of bread baking in the oven.

Before you start the bread baking process, it's necessary to check up that you have all the needed ingredients. One of the easiest bread making options to start out with is the Italian bread. It also happens to be delicious choice.  First you have to measure the liquid called for in the recipe and  make sure it is the right temperature called for, you can use a kitchen thermometer to be sure, then sprinkle the allotted amount of yeast over the liquid and let it set for a while, until the yeast bubbles to the top.  After adding only a portion of flour into your mixing bowl, add the other ingredients and mix.   It is best to push in the middle of this mixture slightly to form a bowl shaped crevice, then pour in the remaining liquids, along with the dissolved yeast and mix.  Now add the rest of your flour, slowly, while stirring the mixture until it becomes stiff and dough like.

Next, it's time to knead the freshly mixed dough. Lightly flour up a kneading board and lay the dough flat.  It also helps if you put a little flour on your hands, this helps to keep the dough from sticking to your fingers.  Then  push into the dough with the palms of your hands, and fold the dough into quarters, keep doing this until the dough is no longer sticky, and there are no cracks, the same as you would for cookie dough. You really want a nice, smooth surface for your dough so it comes out nicely in the oven.

After the kneading step has finished, it's time to set the dough in a warm, moist place and let it rise.  The rising process is perhaps the second most important process second to kneading. This can be done by placing it in a bowl that has been lightly greased; making sure all areas of the dough is rolled around in the bowl and has come in contact with the shortening or oil.  Next place dough in a warm area, cover with a clean dish towel and leave it to rise, until the ball of dough is twice its size.  Then remove it and punch the dough lightly with your fists and place back on floured service.

The final step in the bread baking process is to shape the dough into loafs and place them into the bread baking pans.  How long it takes the bread to bake depends on your specific recipe, but in general 15-20 minutes at 375 degrees will do the trick.  With the basic instructions laid down, it's easy and fun to get creative with your recipes, for great tasting homemade bread the whole family will love.  If you wish to make more than one loaf at a time, you may freeze the unbaked loaves in a heavy duty air-tight bag and you can freeze it for up to one month.  Suggestions have been made that freezing it right after the first rising gives you better results, it has been noted that it will rise slightly again while baking.