The Best Things in Life are the Simplest

Words by Justin Butts Recipe by Kayla Butts Photos by Rachel Benevides

Bread is simple. Profoundly simple. Mind-blowingly simple.

Not so long ago, every home in America featured freshly-baked bread on a daily basis. That means there was a baker in every home, although no one thought of themselves that way. At some point in the 20th century, bread became an outsourced commodity to the convenience of the supermarket.
Outsourcing bread came around the same time that backyard gardens began to be outsourced as well, which disconnected most of society from the source of their food.

The appeal of convenience lured home chefs away from their first love, and soon the tradition of baking bread was lost—not just the skills but also the daily example. People quickly forgot how incredibly good every bite of bread should be. Less-than-mediocre became acceptable.

Kids grew up thinking that bread comes out of a plastic bag, rather than out of the oven. The process of bread making became a mystery that only factories had figured out. Even worse, many bread recipes over-complicate things: scaling, scoring, folding, kneading, proofing, resting—but it doesn’t sound like resting. Making bread is this simple: mix together flour, water, salt, and yeast. Let it sit for a while. Bake it. When it is cool enough, eat it.

In our farm business, we have made many thousands of loaves of a wide array of freshly-baked artisan breads. We have experimented, invented, and had some failures along the way (and even the failures are glorious). These three recipes are bulletproof. One is a crusty white, one a honey wheat, and one a cornbread.

Why cornbread? Because for the last four centuries, wheat (even up north) was rare and expensive, but corn was cheap and readily available. Cornbread was the daily bread—especially in the South. We like this recipe because finishing this quick-rise cornbread is easy while the other breads rise to present all these beautiful loaves together on your table.

If we could humbly suggest our best advice to instantly improve your life: first, start a garden. Grow some of your own vegetables and throw some pretty flowers in there, too. Second, bake your own fresh bread. And, if you only do one, definitely bake the bread—preferably daily.

These simple things in life, like baking homemade bread, can provide so much contentment, joy, and cherished people gathered around your table.

Crusty White Bread

Makes: 1 large loaf
Prep time: 7 minutes
Inactive prep time: ~2 hours
Cooking time: 35-40 minutes

Ingredients:
1 c. bread flour, plus
3 c. bread flour
1 T. plus 1 t. active
dry yeast
1 ½ c. water
¼ c. olive oil
2 t. salt
Directions: Combine 1 cup bread flour, yeast, and water in a large bowl. Let mixture set for 10 minutes until a foamy sponge is formed. Add in remaining ingredients and knead for 2-3 minutes, until ingredients form a dough. Place dough in a large, greased bowl covered with a tea towel or cling wrap. Let rise for two hours. (Optional: For a more flavorful bread, store dough in the refrigerator for up to one week. Once you’re ready to prepare the bread, remove it from the fridge, let dough rest at room temperature for 30 minutes, and continue with the following steps).

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Place a rimmed baking sheet at the bottom of the oven. Carefully transfer dough to a baking sheet and shape into a batard (baton shape). Lightly dust with flour and score with 3 slashes about ¼” deep. Pour a cup of water into the rimmed baking sheet and close oven quickly to trap steam. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until hollow when thumped.

Honey Wheat Bread

Makes: 1 loaf
Prep time: 10 minutes
Inactive prep time: 3 hours
Cook time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:
2 c. all-purpose flour
1 ½ c. whole wheat flour
1 T. active dry yeast
3 T. butter, softened
2 T. honey
1 ½ t. salt
1 1/3 c. water
Optional: 1 T. wheat germ

Directions: Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Knead the dough with your hands or in a standing mixer for 5 minutes, until a smooth dough is formed. Return dough to the mixing bowl and cover with a tea towel or cling wrap. Let rise for approximately 2 hours, or until doubled in size.

Punch dough down and place in a greased loaf pan. Let dough proof an additional 1 hour. Sprinkle the top of the loaf with wheat germ.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake bread for 35-40 minutes, until the top is golden and the loaf sounds hollow when thumped.

Griddle Cornbread

Makes: 16 servings
Prep time: 7 minutes
Cooking time: 35 min.

Ingredients:
½ c. (1 stick) of
unsalted butter
½ c. honey
2 eggs
1 c. whole milk or
buttermilk
1 c. cornmeal
1 c. all-purpose flour
½ t. salt

Directions: Preheat oven to 375°F.

Heat butter in a 10” cast iron skillet over low heat. Once melted, set butter aside to cool.
In a large bowl, whisk dry ingredients together until well-combined. In a separate bowl, mix honey, eggs, milk, and butter. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Pour batter into skillet and level with a spatula.

Cook for about 35 minutes, or until cornbread is golden and set in the middle.