Easy Everyday Bread for the Stand Mixer

Our house bread recipe, My Easy Everyday Bread Recipe, now adapted here for the stand mixer. The bread is made with a good measure of whole wheat flour and studded with oatmeal, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, whatever you've got. The crust is soft and easy to cut through while the bread itself has that even crumb that makes it work so well for sandwiches, toast and you know, a heel at a time ... still warm from the oven, with a smidgen of butter. Ready to bake bread now? I thought so.

Real Food, Fresh & Flexible. Weight Watchers Friendly. Great for Meal Prep, Keeps for Days & Freezes Well.

~ Skip Straight to the Recipe ~

So the word is, we're baking.

Banana bread. Oatmeal cookies. And bread. Lots of bread.

Me, I hope the bread-baking sticks. The simple act of mixing flour and yeast; the anticipation when warm bread emerges from the oven; a loaf waiting in the bread drawer for morning toast and peanut butter ... some how, each is grounding.

So today I'm sharing the stand-mixer version of the bread I baked for the first time exactly four years ago today. How do I know the inaugural date? Well, it was my mom's birthday and it's my tradition to bake bread on her birthday in tribute to one of the world's greatest bread bakers. And yes, bread is rising on the counter as you read this ...

But anyway.

Many, many loaves after that first loaf, I shared the recipe, what had become (and remains) our daily bread, My Easy Everyday Bread Recipe, the easy, European-style bread, so flexible that it takes nearly any adaption thrown its way, like Homemade Herb Bread, Mexican Salsa Bread and the holiday-special Cranberry Walnut Bread.

You'd never ever guess: one recipe is the common base for such different breads!

And now, here's the original master recipe, adjusted for mixing in a stand mixer.

Because ...

... after kneading My Easy Everyday Bread Recipe by hand for over two years, yep, I switched to kneading bread dough in the stand mixer.

Does the stand mixer produce a better loaf? A more even crumb? A time savings?

I'm not sure. The dough is more supple but the loaves themselves seem little different. But it does save a couple of bowls and I love being able to measure the ingredients right into the mixer bowl, thanks to using a kitchen scale (affiliate link) for measuring.

You? You do you, whether by hand or with a mixer.

If you're intrigued by the idea of mixing bread with a dough hook, you'll want to check out Is a Stand Mixer Better for Kneading Bread Dough?, it also shows how to convert your own recipes over to a stand mixer.

But really, however you knead, I hope you'll join me in baking bread.

It Can Be Tough, Keeping Enough Bread on Hand

St. Louis grocers know to prepare for what they call a "French toast forecast," an impending snowstorm that causes a rush on bread, milk and eggs.

To avoid unnecessary trips to the store, it pays to stay stocked up on flour and yeast. Think about it: it's lots easier to store flour and yeast than a bunch of loaves of bread!

Bookmark! PIN! Share!

How do you save and share favorite recipes? recipes that fit your personal cooking style? a particular recipe your mom or daughter or best friend would just love? If the idea of using a stand mixer for bread moves you to dig out yeast and flour, go ahead, save and share! I'd be honored ...

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EASY EVERYDAY BREAD for the STAND MIXER

Hands-on time: 20 minutes to start, 30 minutes total
Time-to-table: about 6 hours
Makes 2 one-pound loaves or multiple smaller loaves and sandwich rolls

• 3 cups unbleached bread flour, fluffed to aerate before measuring or 375g
• 1 cup + another scant 1 cup whole-wheat flour, fluffed to aerate before measuring or 235g
• 1/4 cup (50g) brown sugar
• 1 cup "stuff" (a mix of old-fashioned oats, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, wheat germ, flax seeds, ground flax, bits of dried fruit, etc.)
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 2-1/4 teaspoons (7g or 1 packet) instant yeast
• 1 cup (238g) milk (any fat content)
• 1 cup (220g) water
• Extra flour, if needed, a tablespoon at a time
• Olive oil (or butter), for the bowl for rising and for the top crust after baking

Attach the dough hook to a stand mixer. If you're using a separate bowl to hold the dough for the first rise, add a tablespoon of oil to the bottom of the bowl. I usually use the same bowl for both mixing and the first rise, after wiping it out a bit.

DRY INGREDIENTS For now, leave the mixing bowl off the stand. Measure the flours, sugar, "stuff", salt and yeast directly into the bowl, no need for a measuring cup when measuring with a kitchen scale. With a spatula, hand-stir together the dry ingredients just a bit, distributing the yeast and salt especially, throughout.

WET INGREDIENTS Add the milk and water. With a spatula, stir the liquids into the dry ingredients just enough to get everything wet.

KNEAD ON LOW FOR 2 MINUTES, THEN ANOTHER FIVE MINUTES Lock the mixing bowl in place, then turn on the mixer on low. Watch the mixer for the first two minutes, if the dough does not come together (separating from the sides and becoming a cohesive dough) by the end of the first two minutes, carefully add a tablespoon flour at a time to the bottom of the bowl while the mixer runs until the dough pulls away from the sides; even on humid days, I've never had to add more than 2 tablespoons extra flour. Once the dough separates, let the mixer continue to run for another 5 minutes for a total of seven minutes.

FIRST RISE The dough may be a little sticky, you may need to use a knife to scrape it off the dough hook but with either wet or floured hands, knead the dough by hand for a minute or two, then form the dough into a round and place it in the bowl to rise, swirling the dough to cover the whole exterior with a thin film of oil. Cover the bowl loosely with a light clean towel and place in a warm spot to rise. Dough mixed in the stand mixer takes longer to rise, probably because the ingredients don't warm up with the heat of your hands during kneading. Allow up to four hours or some times longer for the first rise, the dough should increase in size by half or more.

SECOND RISE With the fist of one hand, gently depress the dough to deflate the air, this is what we used to call "punching the dough" but it's really no punch at all, just a gentle deflation. For two loaves, cut the dough in half and shape into two free-form round loaves (to bake on a baking sheet) or into two elongated loaves (to bake in well-greased bread pans). Cover loosely with the same light towel and return to the warm place to rise again.

BAKE Set the oven to 350F/180C. Bake the loaves uncovered for 30 minutes or until the dough reaches an internal temperature of 190F/88C. Remove the bread from the oven and immediately upend onto a baking rack. While the bread is still hot, use a brush or your hands to rub the top crust with a little olive oil or butter.

COOL Let the bread cool completely before slicing or transferring to storage bags. Or okay, slice off a warm heel if you must: bread baker's treat.

Ingredient Substitutions For lots of detail about swapping one ingredient for another (especially active-dry yeast for instant yeast), please check the master recipe, Our Daily Bread: My Easy Everyday Bread Recipe.

How Long Does This Bread Last? These loaves stay fresh more than a week, though I do recommend using it for toast (or our favorite, bread slices toasted in a skillet) starting about Day Five or Day Six.

Can This Bread Be Frozen? Yes! To avoid freezer burns, I wrap each loaf as tightly as possible with wax paper and masking tape, then with foil, then place in a freezer bag and squeeze out as much air as possible. Some bakers like to slice the bread first to be able to pull off a slice or two at a time; for us, that doesn't work since it's so much trouble to redo the whole wax paper + foil + freezer bag process, especially since the loaf will last a week (and more).

How to Use This Bread Sandwiches! Grilled cheese. Toast! (Such excellent toast!) The dough can be shaped into rolls, too, for sandwich buns. My favorite comfort-food breakfast right now is a slice toasted and covered with warm peanut butter.

That said, if you're baking bread especially for sandwiches, definitely turn this direction: Soft Rolls for Sandwiches (NOLA-Style French Rolls) have crispy crusts and soft interiors and make for extra-good sandwiches.

NUTRITION INFORMATION Per Slice, assumes 24 (actual calories will vary based on add-ins and extra flour used): 128 Calories; 3g Tot Fat; 0g Sat Fat; 1mg Cholesterol; 199mg Sodium; 20g Carb; 2g Fiber; 3g Sugar; 4g Protein. WEIGHT WATCHERS Old Points 2 & PointsPlus 3 & SmartPoints 4 & myWW green 4 & blue 4 & purple 4

Adapted from Our Daily Bread: My Easy Everyday Bread Recipe.

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More Bread Recipes

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~ more homemade bread recipes ~
from Kitchen Parade

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Kitchen Parade is written by second-generation food columnist Alanna Kellogg and features fresh, seasonal dishes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences. Quick Suppers are Kitchen Parade favorites and feature recipes easy on the budget, the clock, the waistline and the dishwasher. Do you have a favorite recipe that other Kitchen Parade readers might like? Just send me a quick e-mail via recipes@kitchen-parade.com. How to print a Kitchen Parade recipe. Never miss a recipe! If you like this recipe, sign up for a free e-mail subscription. If you like Kitchen Parade, for more scratch cooking recipes using whole, healthful ingredients, you're sure to like my food blog about vegetable recipes, too, A Veggie Venture. So hey, bread bakers. If you make this recipe, I'd love to know your results! Just leave a comment below.

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