The Lowdown on Homemade Bread: My Fave Recipes and Shortcuts!

Pardon this latest absence- as my husband likes to tell me, I tend to shove about 15 pounds of "stuff" in my 5 pound bag (that's the PG version!) each day, leaving me little to no time to actually blog about the "stuff" I've been doing, ha!

Anyway-I've tried to at the very least Instagram my recent adventures @thislifewellloved. In the meantime, I've gotten lots of requests for different recipes I make and a lot of questions specifically about baking bread at home.

I always found the idea of baking your own bread a little overwhelming until I actually tried it myself and found some nice little shortcuts. 

 Here are my favorite tips:

- For one thing, I don't use a bread machine. Like never. I use my trusty Kitchen-Aid stand mixer or just a big bowl and a fork for my favorite bread recipes. 

-Another tip is to keep your yeast in the refrigerator in a Ziploc. That way you can buy the bigger -containers and keep them fresh for months.
-When I'm in a hurry, I'll microwave a cup of water until just boiling then put my dough on a sheet in the microwave with the door shut for a half hour or so to speed up the leavening process.
-I keep leftover dough in the fridge for up to three days. When I'm ready to use it, I just let it rise on a baking sheet covered with a towel for a few hours. I typically take it out in the morning and let it rise throughout the day.

And now for the recipes:

This one is my go-to hoagie roll recipe

I make it in my Kitchen-Aid and usually half the recipe (and trust me, that will make you at least two dinners for four!). Note that 1 package of yeast is equal to 2 1/4 teaspoons. It's perfection for burger buns and sandwiches!

Here's my favorite Italian bread recipe located on my first ever blog, The Happiest Belly:

It's fantastic for cheesy breadsticks (above), a long baguette, a wider Italian bread or cheesy garlic bread (below and blurry...hello, Prosecco).

I am also completely obsessed with this killer naan recipe from Sweet Peas Kitchen. 

Don't be fooled by the name; it's not just for Indian food.

 I use this flatbread for just about everything from BBQ chicken DIY sammies to gyros to yummy sriracha chicken and veggies (below). I've even been known to serve it with leftover lasagna!

 And finally, my favorite oh-crap-I-forgot-to-make-the-bread recipe for Damn Delicious' knockoff Red Lobster cheesy biscuits.

I play around with these and never use the butter topping. I am a huge fan of butter, don't get me wrong, but I feel like it's overkill to add it on top of these biscuits at the end. I love switching up the cheese (habanero cheddar is my fave) and adding things like bacon and fresh herbs inside. Yum.

I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as I do!

Back again soon with more!