No Fail Basic Bread Dough

I love homemade bread. Typically though, my homemade bread is a big ol' fail. I've tried different recipes, oh so many different recipes. I make bread that has wonderful flavor but very rarely rises. I've tried different yeasts with no success. I've tried 5-minute a day bread, bread from scratch, and bread maker bread.

A friend from church gave me a basic bread dough recipe and FINALLY I can make bread. Her best advice was that you don't have to follow the recipe exactly, you need to make bread like you cook, follow your eyes and nose. And since I've never been one to follow a recipe, this is my style of baking. The best part, it's basically a no-knead bread.

Basic Dough for buns, etc.
1 heaping tablespoon yeast (I've made with regular, fast-acting, and bread machine yeast with great results!)
1 level tablespoon salt
1 egg
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup oil
1 1/2 cup warm water
4 cups flour

Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water and make sure bubbles are present.

Add all ingredients. Knead gently to incorporate all ingredients. I maybe knead for about a minute.

Place into a lightly greased bowl, cover, and set in a warm area to rise. For me, I let my dough rise in the laundry room. Once dough has doubled, shape into bread pan or form into rolls. Cover pan and allow to double again.

Bake 400 degrees until golden brown.

I am in LOVE with this dough. I have not tried it with whole wheat flour so I don't know if it would need gluten added to it. My favorite variation is to add 1 cup of 9 grain mix and decrease the flour by 1/2 cup and add 1 tablespoon garlic powder.

Enjoy!

Lisa