Nothing smells better than fresh bread coming straight out of the oven. Bread has been a food staple since our ancestors learned how to combine flour and water, wherein it became one of the most prominent foods around the globe.

While it seems that bread is readily available everywhere, homemade bread is not that easy to make.

Baking isn’t for everyone, it takes time and patience to make one at home. Most of us just don’t have the luxury of time to make one, let alone have an oven that can be quite expensive.

Fortunately for us, one baking-savvy woman named Danielle Luttrell uploaded a simple, yet tasty bread recipe hack using a slow cooker.

Go ahead and smell and taste that freshly made bread at home with this viral and easy-to-follow slow cooker bread recipe.

Here are the ingredients.

• 1/2 cup of warm water
• 2 cups of warm milk
• 2 tablespoons of melted UNSALTED butter
• 1–3 tablespoons of sugar (add more for a sweeter bread)
• 3 teaspoons of active dry yeast (this is on the conservative side)
• 6 cups of whole wheat flour (or 3 cups whole wheat & 3 cups all-purpose flour)
• 2 teaspoons of salt
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder

Note: The measurements indicated in each ingredient is ideal for a regular-sized slow cooker.

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine and stir 1/2 cup of warm water, 1 (or more) tablespoon of sugar (add more based on your sweetness discretion), and the yeast. Wait for 5 minutes until it’s frothy on the top.
2. While waiting, you may go ahead and warm 2 cups of warm milk and 2 tablespoons of butter in the microwave.
3. After the 5 minutes is up, mix the milk and butter mixture to the bowl of yeast.
4. Using a standard mixer, slowly pour the 6 cups of flour, 2 teaspoons of salt, and 1 teaspoon of baking powder. Mix everything together and knead the dough (you may also use a dough hook for roughly 5 minutes before kneading it by hand for another 5-7 minutes).
5. Line up your slow cooker with parchment or baking paper before placing your round up dough inside. Allow it to rise as the room temperature warms it up nicely.
6. Set the slow cooker on High and the timer for 2 to 2.5 hours. After the time has passed, check the bread every 7-10 minutes until the top has a sponge- consistency that still springs back up and it has not moisture on top. The sides and the bottom should also have a nice golden-brown color.
7. To make the top of the bread crunchier, you may place it on a broiler for just a few minutes.

Notes:

• Use unsalted butter or add extra salt if you wish
• Same with sugar, add more to adjust sweetness based on your preference
• If you’re new at kneading, try the 50:50 ratio with whole wheat flour and all-purpose flour to avoid having a very dense loaf

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Source: Sweet & Savory, Slow Cooker Recipe & Tips