Book Riot is sharing their picks of “The Best Bread Books For Your Quarantine Baking“.

Baking bread is a lot of fun, if you can find yeast and flour, that is! If you have these vital ingredients and if you’re looking for an easy, no-fail bread recipe, try this one, kindly shared by my ex-neighbour and always friend, Tara S. Enjoy!

— Sandi H.

Tara’s No-Fail White Bread

2 1/2 c all purpose flour
1 tbsp or 1 sachet of yeast
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 c warm/hot water
1/8 c cooking oil

Put 2 cups of the flour, yeast, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Stir to combine. Make a well. Add water and oil. Mix to combine. The dough will be sticky.

Add the remaining 1/2 c flour gradually until the dough is no longer sticky. Turn dough out onto a baking board or counter and knead for 5 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Pat into a ball and put the dough back in the bowl. Cover with a damp tea towel. Let rise until double in size, approximately 30 minutes.

Remove the tea towel and punch down the dough. Shape it with your hands so that it will fit into a large, greased loaf tin. Put the dough in the tin and let it rise until it reaches the top rim of the pan. (I covered mine loosely with plastic wrap that allowed space for rising but that’s purely optional).

Preheat oven to 400F. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes. Enjoy!

NOTE: these measurements make 1 large loaf but you can simply double the recipe to bake 2 loaves. It freezes very well, too.