I’m not sure bread gets much more simple, but this, fresh out the oven with a little butter… perfect. I started with this recipe, but I have my own preferences so I’ll put my own version here.

Mix, knead for ~10 mins, let the dough double in size, punch it down, place a log in a greased bread pan, let it rise again, and then bake at 350F for 30 mins. The second rise should go a bit longer if you want a lighter bread to eat on its own, or shorter if you want a dense bread for sandwiches, but letting it double is a good rule of thumb. Also, since I let the dough rise in my oven, I like to put in a tray of warm water while it rises and leave it in there until after it’s done baking. The extra humidity helps it rise faster, and keeping it during baking makes the crust crustier.

This makes enough dough to fill my bread pan twice, so after punching it down I put half in the fridge or freezer to be baked whenever.

2 cups warm water

1/4 cup white sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast

1 tablespoon vegetable oil (I used olive oil today)

2 teaspoons salt

6 cups bread flour (I ran out of bread flour this time and used 2 cups of all-purpose, but honestly I can’t tell a difference)

Immediately after baking pic

And then I took it out of the pan after letting it cool for 20 minutes or so pic

This recipe, being so basic, is also super versatile, good for experimentation. I’ve rolled it into long logs and baked on a cookie sheet to make a sub roll/baguette, I’ve taken those sub rolls and turned them into garlic bread, sometimes I top it or mix with sesame seeds, or an everything bagel mix, or cheese, or caramelized onions. Messing with this hasn’t failed me yet.