Bread Recipe You can Use for Rolls, Pizza, Cinnamon Buns, Pita Bread and More

My family loves bread and I have used this recipe to make all sorts of different kinds of bread. What I especially like about this all-purpose bread recipe (pun intended) is that I can start the dough before I have figured out what I'm actually going to make for dinner!

While you can vary this recipe by having eggs and milk used instead of the water, I have found that just using water makes the dough rise quicker and yields a nice light bread. Of course, you can also add wheat flour (or any other whole grain flour) as half of the flour in the dough if you want whole wheat bread.

Whether you make your recipe with white flour or whole grains, you can turn it into any of the following variations: cinnamon rolls, focaccia bread, garlic bread sticks, pan rolls, individual rolls, pesto rolls, pita bread, calzones and more! So pull out that bread machine and get started!

VirginiaLynne's White Bread Dough Recipe

Mix together in a small bowl and let set for 10 minutes until foamy:

2 teaspoons yeast

¼ cup sugar

½ cup warm water

In a large bowl combine:

4 cups flour

1 tea. Salt

Add the yeast mixture to the flour mixture and then add:

1 cup water or milk

2 Tbs. to ¼ cup oil

Mix with a spoon until dough forms a ball.Put flour on the counter and pour out dough mixture.Knead dough by pressing heel of hand into dough and then folding dough over.Keep on adding flour and kneading for about five to ten minutes until dough is smooth and elastic.

Grease a bowl with about 2 tea. margarine (not oil) and place dough in bowl.Turn dough over until it is covered all over with margarine.Put a towel on top of bowl and let set for 1- 11/2 hours until is is about double in size.Punch down and let set for 5 minutes and then form into shape for baking.This recipe makes 1 large loaf, 2 medium loaves, one pan of rolls or two pizza crusts.

While I’ve given directions for mixing and kneading by hand, you can also add these ingredients to a bread dough machine and process on the dough cycle until done, then shape and bake.This recipe yields one or two loaves depending on the size you want to make.I frequently double the recipe to make several different types of breads at once.The breads freeze very well for several weeks if wrapped in foil or put in a Ziploc bag. I love having bread in the freezer to give out as a gift to a new neighbor, or as part of a meal for someone who has had a new baby or is ill.

Note:You can use this dough for any sort of bread.You can double the recipe.You can add any sort of spice or about ½ cup of cheese to give flavor.You can also add in ½ cup of pesto or dried tomato pesto.You can substitute up to ½ of the flour with oatmeal, wheat or other flours although the dough will be heavier and won’t rise quite so much.

Pan Rolls

Squeeze out balls of dough between your thumb and index finger.Balls should be about 2 inches in diameter.Place almost touching in a greased cake pan.Cover with a cloth and let rise for 1-2 hours. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes until light brown.Melt 1/3 cup butter and brush over tops (alternatively, if you want the rolls to be shiny, you can brush an egg beaten with a little water over the top before you bake them).

IndividualRolls

Shape the same as pan rolls, but put on greased cookie sheet about 2-3 inches apart.Let rise and bake the same as for pan rolls.

Pizza Crust

Lightly grease pan.Roll out dough to fit pan.Put on sauce, cheese and other toppings.You can bake right away or let rise for 30 min to 1 hour.You can also freeze and bake later.Bake at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes.

Pita Bread (Naan)

Roll out balls of dough to about 8 inches in diameter.Put on greased baking sheet and cover with towel.Let rise 1 hour until puffy. Here is the secret to making this bread have a pocket in the middle: Bake at 450 degrees for 8 minutes.Check these carefully.They should be light brown when done.You can just eat this as flat bread or split down the middle and fill with sandwich fillings.

Cinnamon Rolls or Sticky Buns

Roll out to a thin large rectangle.Melt ½ cup of margarine or butter and spread over the rectangle.Sprinkle 1 cup of sugar on top (more if you want).Use white sugar for cinnamon rolls, brown sugar for sticky buns.On the cinnamon rolls you will also need to sprinkle with cinnamon.You can add raisins if you want also.For sticky buns you can add ½ cup of chopped nuts if you want.Starting on the long end, roll up the dough. Cut by using a piece of thread or string.Wrap the thread around the roll and pull tight until it cuts.Place rolls in a 13 by 9 inch pan.Cover with a towel and let rise 1 hour on the counter or cover with saran wrap and let rise overnight in the refrigerator.Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until light brown and bubbly.If you want, you can frost with 1 cup powdered sugar mixed with 1 TB. Water.

Pesto Rolls

Prepare and bake as above, but spread the roll with store bought pesto or dried tomato pesto.

Focaccia Bread

This bread usually tastes better if you use olive oil in the bread recipe.Roll out dough into a rectangle and place on greased cookie sheet.Brush with Olive oil.Use tip of finger to make dimples in the dough.You can place all sorts of things on top including any of the following: Parmesan cheese, chopped olives, sauteed onions, garlic, Italian herbs, herbes de province, tomato slices.You also might like to sprinkle it with salt.Bake at 350 for about 20 -30 minutes until light brown.

Calzones

This is probably one of my favorite "go to" meals because everyone likes them and they can also be taken to lunch. Divide the dough into 8-9 balls and roll each of these out (I do these one at a time usually). Put meat and cheese (or any other fillings like spinach) inside the circle of each dough and then fold them in half and press shut. You can let these rise for 1/2 hour or bake them right away until they are brown on top, usually about 20-30 minutes. Anything you'd put in a pizza can be used for fillings, but our favorites are leftover ham, hamburger, pork or steak with some shredded cheese. Generally, I serve these with marinara or spagetti sauce on top (or to dip). Calzones make a great take-along for lunch too, since they are not messy and can taste good cold. Try them!