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Bread in a Bag is going to become your new favorite family activity! Little kids and big kids alike will love making their own loaf of bread.
Bread in a Bag Recipe
School is officially out here in Portland and summer vacation has started. When I had kids at home, one of my favorite things to do in the summer was hold cooking lessons. One of our favorite things to make was bread.
Making Bread in a Bag is the perfect way to introduce your children to bread making. It’s quick, easy and delicious!
Tips for Cooking with Kids
- Make sure recipe is readable and accessible. I covered my table with parchment paper and then wrote the ingredients on the paper so the kids could easily see it.
- Have all the ingredients out and easy to reach.
- Take time to teach them how to measure properly. I prefer the scoop and level method for flour.
- Don’t expect perfection. The important thing is that the kids have fun. Their loaves won’t be perfectly shaped but it doesn’t matter They still tasted the same!
- Embrace the mess. Kids will be messy and you will end up with flour all over the table and floor but they are going to have fun and so will you! The mess will clean up quickly but the memories will last a long time!!
Science Lesson
While making bread with the kids it is fun to share a little bit of science with them.
What makes bread rise?
Bread rises because of yeast which is a leavening agent. The yeast gives off carbon dioxide which creates bubbles in the bread dough and causes the bread to rise. The heat of the oven causes the carbon dioxide to expand even more so the bread rises even taller while baking.
What is yeast?
Yeast is a living organism and it needs food, warmth, and moisture to grow and thrive. It converts sugar and starch into carbon dioxide. This process is called fermentation. It’s the carbon dioxide that makes baked goods rise.
I have a full post on how to proof yeast you can check out.
Bread in a Bag Ingredients
- All Purpose flour
- Sugar
- Rapid Rise Yeast or Instant. Yeast. This does not need to be proofed in water first.
- Water
- Olive Oil or Vegetable Oil
- Salt
- Zippered food storage bag
How to Make Bread in a Bag
Place one cup of flour into a gallon size plastic bag.
Add yeast, sugar and warm water.
- Zip up the bag and smoosh it all together until the flour is all mixed in.
- Let it rest for 10 minutes so the yeast will activate.
- Add in olive oil, salt and remaining flour into the bag.
- Smoosh some more until dough forms.
- Take dough out of bag and place onto a lightly floured table
- Knead bread until smooth, add extra flour as needed.
- Grease mini loaf pans . Form dough into two bread loaves and place in loaf pans sprayed with cooking spray. You will get two small loaves out of one batch.
- Cover with a towel or plastic wrap and let dough rise for 20-30 minutes in a warm place. Since we are using rapid rise yeast, it won’t take long.
- Bake at 375 degrees F for 25-30 minutes for mini loaves.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make one big loaf instead of two small loaves?
Absolutely, you will just need to bake the bread for about 40 minutes.
Can I use whole wheat flour?
You can use whole wheat flour. I would recommend using half whole wheat and half white.
Can I divide the recipe in half?
You can divide it in half and have two children each make one mini loaf.
Can I make this gluten free?
Yes, just use your favorite gluten free flour. I like Bob Red Mill’s Cup for Cup gluten free flour.
What size mini loaf pan do you use?
The ones I use measure 5.75 x 3.25 inches.
For more fun recipes and activities for kids try these:
Be sure and follow me over on YouTube for weekly cooking demos.
Bread in a Bag
Ingredients
- 3 cups all purpose flour divided
- 3 Tbsp white sugar
- 1 .25 package rapid rise yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
- 1 cup warm water
- 3 Tbsp olive oil or vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- In a resealable plastic bag place 1 C flour, sugar and yeast and add in warm water. Water should be 105-110 degrees F.
- Squeeze air out of the bag and seal.
- Squish with your hands until well mixed together.
- Let it rest for 10 minutes at room temperature. Bubbles will form.
- Open bag and put in 1 C of flour, oil and salt.
- Seal bag again and squish until well blended.
- Add last cup of flour and continue mixing in the same manner until well blended.
- Remove dough from bag and put onto a lightly floured surface.
- Knead for 5-10 minutes or until smooth.
- Divide dough in half and place each half into a greasedmini loaf pan. Or make one large loaf
- Cover with a towel and allow to rise for about 30 minutes.
- Bake in a 375 degree oven for 25-30 minutes or until bread is golden brown.
Tips & Notes:
- have fun. Their loaves won’t be perfectly shaped but it doesn’t matter They still tasted the same!
- Embrace the mess. Kids will be messy and you will end up with flour all over the table and floor but they are going to have fun and so will you! The mess will clean up quickly but the memories will last a long time!!
Nutrition Facts:
Staci says
Thanks! I am going to do this with the activity day girls and use one of their loaves as sacrament bread and talk about the sacrament. This is an easy way to make it work with a crowd!
Judy Hodges says
Staci. You must be LDS. What a great Primary activity for girls. I live in Louisiana and am in the Denham Springs Stake Presidency here. Hope your girls had fun. Sis Judy Hodges
A. Kemp says
How much yeast?? I can’t tell how much there is in the packet.
Leigh Anne says
A packet of yeast has 2 1/4 tsp in it.
Jayne says
Hi
What a great idea and yummy fresh bread to boot.
I have one query, the recipe states 1 (.25) package rapid rise yeast.
What is the (.25) ??
Many thanks.
Leigh Anne says
that is the weight of the package.
Jennifer says
I successfully used this with a group of six 7 year olds and a group of eight 5 year olds. For the 5 year olds, I had them do half the recipe in a quart sized bag and make one mini loaf. All the kids thought it was so fun to take home their own loaf of bread. Putting everything in a ziploc made the mess really manageable. For the younger group, I had pre-measured the yeast, sugar, salt, and oil into little Dixie cups so they could just dump them in. Anyway, just wanted to thank you for such a fun, kid friendly idea!!
Holly says
I love baking bread. But since I’m extremely disabled, it’s a huge chore, one I don’t often do.
Today I got my ingredients ready, but am still unable to make myself start the project.
Your idea about mixing dough in a bag got me moving. I have the dry ingredients ready for a standard 2-loaf bread recipe. I’ll use bags, dividing the ingredients into two batches. This is even better, because I live alone, and can’t eat two loaves of bread before they get unlovely. I’ll retain the other half of the dry ingredients and do it again, once the first batch is used up.
This idea will allow me to knead my bread at the computer, sitting down! Since standing up is painful, you might guess what a grand idea that is. You might find sites for disabled people who may also appreciate this.
This is a great idea for children, but also for this disabled grandma! Thanks.
Leigh Anne says
Holly, So glad you found the recipe and that it will work for you Have fun making your bread