12 Bread Baking Tips from Grandma’s Kitchen

We can use all the bread baking tips and tricks we can get—especially if they come from grandmothers that know their way around the kitchen.

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Get the temperature right for yeast

Yeast is a pretty finicky ingredient. If the water is too cool, it won’t activate and give your bread the rise it needs. If the water is too hot, you’ll go and kill the yeast; again, you won’t get the lift you need for yeasted bread recipes.

But grandmas just seem to know how to get the temperature right for proofing yeast just by touch. If you’re not quite as practiced as your nana, use a kitchen thermometer and aim for about 110º F.

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Brush loaves and rolls with butter

Almost any grandmother will tell you any recipe tastes better with butter (she’s right). To give homemade bread and rolls that extra homemade flavor, brush the tops with melted butter before popping them in the oven.

And be sure to check out more butter tips from Grandma. They’ll change the way you bake!

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Use a bread box

A bread box might be something you only see in Grandma’s kitchen, but we’re here to tell you that Grammy had it right! Bread boxes really do help keep bread fresh, especially your unsliced homemade loaves.

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Use up sourdough discard

Listen to your elders here and don’t let food—even your sourdough discard—go to waste. While the sourdough starter itself is used to make loaves of crusty bread, the discard can also be useful in the kitchen.

Use sourdough discard to make plenty of other recipes including cookies, biscuits and muffins.

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Knead by hand

Yes, you can absolutely use your stand mixer to knead bread dough, but we’re willing to bet that most grandmas learned to make bread by hand. While the mixer is handy, learning how to make bread the old-fashioned way really helps you understand the dough better.

When you knead dough, you’re developing the gluten which gives bread the right structure. You’ll know that the dough is ready to proof when the dough stretches when you pull on it (versus tearing).

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Invest in small loaf pans

If you prefer quick breads, be sure you’ve got plenty of baking pans handy. While many recipes call for a larger loaf pan, you can easily bake up several small loaves of bread perfectly sized for sharing with friends. We know that Grandma probably dropped a few on her neighbors’ doorsteps back in the day.

Quick reminder: When baking in smaller pans, be sure to reduce the bread’s time in the oven.

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Coat mix-ins with flour

When bread recipes call for any sort of additions like chopped nuts or fruit, it’s always a good idea to give these mix-ins a quick toss in a bit of flour. Grandma would tell you that this extra step prevents these heavier ingredients from sinking to the bottom of your loaf. This is especially important with quick bread recipes.

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Use one dough many ways

Ask Grandma and she’ll tell you that you don’t need to master dozens of recipes to make many different bakes. One good bread recipe can serve as a foundation for so much more than a plain loaf.

Our go-to homemade bread recipe can be repurposed into cinnamon rolls, garlic knots, pizza dough, hand pies and more. Learn exactly how to switch up this bread recipe here.

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Tap the bottom of your loaf

You know bread is ready when the internal temperature hits about 185º to 200º F. However, most grandmas weren’t pulling out fancy equipment to test the doneness of their bread. Instead, do as Gran would: Knock on the bottom of your loaf. If it sounds hollow, it’s ready to come out of the oven.

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Don’t waste stale bread

If your bread has gone stale, don’t throw it out! Stale bread has its uses in the kitchen. You can cube it up, season and toast it to make homemade croutons. You can also use it to make treats like French toast or bread pudding. If you’re going through the work to make bread on your own, you don’t want to waste a single crumb.

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Keep using old-fashioned recipes

What so many of us love about our grandmothers’ kitchens are the old-fashioned recipes. Chances are, your gran was whipping up recipes passed down to her from generations prior. Keep traditions alive and be sure not to skip any old-school recipes you might find in her recipe box or on her cookbook shelf.

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Be patient!

Baking bread—even quick bread—takes time. Remember to be patient as bread proofs and bakes. If the idea of sitting around waiting on bread to rise sounds like a real snooze, use the time to your advantage! Schedule a day of baking. While that bread dough proofs, you can stir up some biscuits or cookies to share with family and friends.

Lisa Kaminski
Lisa is a former Taste of Home editor and passionate baker. During her tenure, she poured her love of all things sweet (and sometimes savory) into Bakeable, Taste of Home's baking club. Lisa also dedicated her career here to finding and testing the best ingredients, kitchen gear and home products for our Test Kitchen-Preferred program. At home, you'll find her working on embroidery and other crafts.