Squish It in the Bag
No mixing bowl, no flour everywhere — just a sealed bag and two hands.
This is a real Modern Monticello recipe, not a made-up one — Bread in a Bag, kneaded right through the plastic so there's no sticky mess. Read the steps below together, then go make it. Some of it's a kid job. Some of it needs a grown-up.
What You'll Need
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, divided
- 3 tsp sugar
- 1 packet rapid-rise yeast
- 1 cup warm water (about 110°F)
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1¼ tsp salt
- 1 large zip-top bag
- 1 greased loaf pan
Kid Jobs
- Pour 1 cup of the flour, the sugar, and the yeast into the bag.
- Once a grown-up says the water's the right warmth, pour it in, seal the bag, and squish everything together until it's foamy — about 10 minutes.
- After a grown-up adds the oil, salt, and the rest of the flour, seal the bag back up and squish and knead it right through the plastic. No sticky hands.
- Help turn the dough out and shape it into the loaf pan once it's doubled in size.
Grown-Up Jobs
- Check the water temperature before the kid pours it in — around 110°F. Too hot and it kills the yeast before it ever gets to work.
- Add the oil, salt, and remaining flour after the first 10-minute squish.
- Handle the oven: bake at 375°F for about 27 minutes, until golden.
This is Homemaker's whole philosophy in one loaf: a full pantry starts with knowing how to actually make real food yourself, not just knowing where to buy it.
About Sally Homemaker
Went back and studied the real chemistry behind fermentation and food safety specifically to stop people treating home economics like lesser knowledge. She'll explain the physics of a properly sealed jar with the exact same ease she hands you a stain-removal tip — decades of real practice, with the actual science understood underneath the tradition, not just inherited by habit.