I WILL Bake Bread from Scratch, Doggone It.
I tried to bake bread from scratch a few weeks ago. It turned out *ahem* less than great. The texture was tough, it tasted overly “yeast-y” in my opinion (my family disagreed), and it didn’t give the “warm hug” sensation characteristic of freshly baked bread.
This outcome was frustrating, to say the least.
Why do I Need to Bake Bread from Scratch?
There’s something deeply satisfying about learning to bake bread from scratch. It’s a process that invites you to slow down, trust your hands, and be present in your kitchen. For me, this journey isn’t just about nailing an easy bread recipe—it’s about honoring where I come from and building confidence in the everyday. Homemade bread carries a pedigree that store-bought loaves just don’t have. Each loaf tells a story, and I’m determined that mine will be seasoned with joy, a little trial and error, and a whole lot of heart. The process of baking bread from scratch is not for those in the softest of a soft life; it is for us all. If you’re learning to bake bread too, let’s rise together.
My mother used to bake bread from scratch all the time. No lie, the woman probably made thousands of yeast rolls in her lifetime, with each batch yielding about 3 dozen rolls. While I picked up my cooking ability from her, the yeast roll is something I have yet to master. I did ask her several times for help with this and other recipes for baking bread from scratch, and each time we ended with the same result…that I simply needed more practice.
I REFUSE TO ACCEPT DEFEAT.
There are so many people who can bake bread from scratch (arguably not as well as my mom), or who can bake a loaf or two of sandwich bread from scratch on a whim.
I want to be one of those people. I NEED to be one of those people.
Bake Bread from Scratch: How We’ll Get It Done
I’m dragging you along with me to figure this thing out. I am going to bake bread from scratch, and it is going to be amazing. Together, we are going to try out a few recipes until I can get it right.
First up is a recipe by prominent food influencer turned cookbook author, Joshua Weissman (JW). I admire his story because the man simply loves to cook. He apprenticed in many a professional kitchen, picking up tips and tricks to add to his expansive arsenal of culinary knowledge that he graces us with via social media. Plus, he has a great spirit and fantastic sense of humor. He makes cooking look easy, and he is committed to cooking things “the right way,” not the most convenient way, or in a way that takes shortcuts to the mercy of flavor an execution. Joshua Weissman is indeed a cook’s cook, and I am here for it.
Therefore, it made complete sense to me to start this journey with one of his recipes to bake bread from scratch.
In this recipe, JW is actually making an entire subway sandwich from scratch as part of his “But Better” series; the portion of him making the sub bread from scratch caught my eye in particular. If you want to watch the full video of him baking the bread in his way (which I highly recommend), check it out:
Really good video, right?
Bake Bread from Scratch: Things to Note
The JW recipe calls for yeast, sugar, all purpose flour…you know, the usual things. However, what struck me about his recipe are the following:
- He didn’t add sugar directly to the yeast mixture during blooming. I always thought that when you bake bread from scratch, the yeast required sugar to feed it during the bloom process. Instead, JW adds the sugar to the dry ingredients, then mixes in the wet yeast bloom later in the recipe.
- The steamy oven baking method. JW boils water on the stove, then moves the still-steaming water to the oven along with the bread to allow it to create a steamy baking environment for EXACTLY 8 minutes before removing the steamy pan of water and allowing the bread to continue baking until complete. No clue how he landed on exactly 8 minutes, but I’m sure there’s a method to JW’s madness. There always is.
- The recipe seems to yield way more bread than JW implies. I ventured away from the recipe by cutting the dough into 4 pieces instead of leaving it in 2 pieces for rolling, proofing and baking. Why? Well, the recipe produces hefty amounts, in my option. JW’s recipe claims to produce 2 foot long sub rolls. Even with turning it into 4 six-inch sub rolls, I could’ve easily divided it even further – allowing it to last longer with my carb-crazy family.
- Simplicity. To bake bread from scratch using the JW way is a fairly simple recipe as long as you follow the directions. With the exception of creating more rolls than prescribed, I followed everything to a “T.” For example, JW instructs blending the shortening into the flour with 2 forks which felt incredibly odd to my southern biscuit-making hands. Still, I did as JW prescribed and it turned out exactly as planned.
- Flavor. Whenever I make bake bread from scratch, particularly yeast rolls, I can overwhelmingly taste the yeast. In this recipe, the flavor was as it should be…the lovely warm hug sensation characteristic of a great piece of fresh made bread.
Comment below – are there any points about the JW process that you found surprising?
Bake Bread from Scratch: The Joshua Weissman Attempt
After watching JW’s video several times and taking copious notes, I ventured to bake bread from scratch using Joshua Weissman’s recipe and – lucky for you – I documented the entire process on Instagram Live. Check it out…
To be clear, it took more than one IG live to get it all done, simply because of the bread proofing process. The first proof lasted an hour, followed by a second 20 minute proof.
Here’s the second IG live which continues the process.
Are You Following Me on IG?
(Back to the bread from scratch)
Listen – if you try the JW bread recipe, I want to hear all about it. I’m going to try more recipes, including my mom’s yeast roll recipe, and @foodbyjenn’s recipe for sandwich bread. With all that said, I’m going to leave you to watch how I did via IG (which is another reason to follow @livetheseasonedlife). How do you think I did?
Is there a particular bread recipe I should try next? Let me know in the comments.
Stay with me as I get into that seasoned life. In the meantime, you stay seasoned, my friends!
Shauna
