Food: 1 Hour Bread Recipe in 4 Ways

One of my friends who knows I make a lot of bread sent me a link about a year ago about a loaf of bread you can make in 1 hour. So the other day I was looking for that recipe and couldn't find it, so on to Pinterest I went. I thought for sure I saved it to one of my boards, but, alas, I couldn't find it. But what I did find, though, was another recipe for 1 hour bread that makes TWO LARGE loaves in an hour and requires only a few ingredients. Not only did I love, love, love this new recipe, but I tried a few variations of it, and they all turned out great. It's all I can do to keep this bread in my house. Lucky for me, and now for you, these recipes are available for you, and you can have fresh bread ready before dinner is finished tonight.

Here's the basic recipe that I found on La Fuji Mama [link for original recipe here]. I adjusted it slightly only because she called for specific stuff, and even gives reasons why you should use those ingredients, but I found that my variations were just fine.

1 Hour Bread...or as we call it in our house Jed Bread [since he helps me make it]
Ingredients: 
5 1/4 cup all purpose flour
4 Tbsp Turbinado [or white, if you want] sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 Tbsp yeast [I use the rapid rising yeast that comes in a jar]
1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
2 cups hot water

Directions:

1. Mix together the dry ingredients. Slowly add the oil and water until well combined. 
2. Spray the counter with cooking spray and knead the bread until smooth. 
3. Split the dough in half and form into loaves. 
4. Place on a baking sheet or stone, cover with a clean, dry towel, and let rise for 25 minutes. 
5. While the bread is rising, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 
6. After 25 minutes, put the bread in the oven and bake for 25 minutes. 
7. When it comes out, I always take about a Tbsp of melted butter and brush the top. Let cool before slicing. 

Oh yeah. We are some bread loving fools here. 

NOTE: I generally do steps 1 and 2 in the mixer. Using a dough hook, I mix the ingredients on low speed. Once they are all combined, I turn it up to about medium speed for about 3 minutes until smooth. I kind of test it by how "clean" my bowl looks. All the dough should form a ball and pull away from the sides of the bowl. 

So it's THAT EASY. I did those four loaves in the above picture in a TOTAL of an hour and a half. I gave one to the new neighbors, we ate one for dinner and breakfast, I served one at home group, and the other was put into the freezer for another day. Not bad for under two hours of work. 

Then I thought, "I wonder if it would still work and taste good if I changed the ingredients." And they do. I tried changing it up 3 different ways. 

Variation 1: Honey Wheat Bread

Ingredients

3 cups wheat flour

2.5 cups all purpose flour

4 Tbsp local, raw honey 

1.5 tsp salt
1.5 Tbsp yeast 

1.5 Tbsp olive oil

2 cups HOT water

Directions: [pretty much the same as above]

1. Mix the dry ingredients in the mixing bowl. In a smaller bowl, mix together the wet ingredients [I like how this helps melt the honey and spread out the honey]
2. Continue the rest of the directions as in the original. 
3. To add a little extra honey taste, when I melt the butter to brush on top, I add about a Tbsp of honey to the melted butter and brush on top. 

Variation 2: Braided Loaf

So, I'm not going to give the ingredients because it's all the same [of either variation above]. 

As for directions, before letting the bread sit to rise, separate each loaf into 3 parts. Roll into long ropes. Pinch the ends of the ropes and then braid. Then pinch the other end of the ropes. Tuck both ends under, cover, and let rise. 

This bread would be super pretty for the holidays or for a shower. 

Variation 3: Cinnamon Roll Bread [both my husband and my oldest son...and most honest critic...said it tastes just like the kind you get at the restaurants...so it is most definitely a hit in my house, and they never last more than a day]

Ingredients: 

Same 6 ingredients in the original recipe, plus....

3 Tbsp butter, melted

1/3 cup brown sugar

2 Tbsp ground cinnamon 

Directions: 

1. Follow original steps 1-3. 
2. On a clean surface, lightly sprayed with cooking oil, roll out one of the loaves into a 12 x 15 inch rectangle. 
3. In a small bowl, combine the melted butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. It should be kind of a paste. If it's not, you can add more brown sugar or more cinnamon. I tend to add more cinnamon because the sugar will melt, and we REALLY like cinnamon. 
4. Spread the cinnamon/sugar mixture over the entire rolled out dough, leaving about a 1/8 inch on all the edges. 
5. Tightly roll the dough into a tube. Pinch all the edges closed. The first time I made this, I didn't do this, and the melted butter came out in every opening, making a mess of my oven. 
6. Set on a baking sheet or stone, cover, let rise, and then follow the rest of the directions. 

This is something GOOD. The only thing I would say is that it doesn't rise as much as the other bread and is a little more delicate. It's still so stinkin' good, though. 

See all that goop coming out? That was because I didn't seal the edges. 

If you are interested in some more breads I have done, check out these links below: 

• Made from "Scratch" Cornbread Muffins
• French Toast Lasagna
• Pretzel Bites 
• Waffled Crepes with Tropical Sauce

I have created a "Bread" label as well that includes many of the other breads I have made and shared. 

Happy Baking, everyone.