The Best Easy Bread Dough Recipe to Cook with Kids (2024)

ByCerys ParkerPublished onApril 26, 2023January 24, 2024

One of our favourite recipes to cook with kids is bread. A simple tradition we have is to bake a loaf of bread at home once a week with the kids. This easy bread recipe is ideal as you can use it for a 2lb loaf or you can make it into some extra cute little hedgehog rolls. The kneading, watching it rise and then enjoying the flavor filled finished loaf is fantastic for the kids and it does taste extra nice as well.

Go to Recipe

When I set about making bread with the kids we tried a few different recipes. But we settled on this one as it’s easy to remember and they can do a lot of it themselves.

Ingredients for Easy Homemade Bread Recipe

3cups strong bread flour – you can use all purpose flour but add an extra teaspoon of yeast
pinch of salt
1 packet of active dry yeast or 7g of easy-bake yeast
2 tablespoons of vegetable or sunflower oil (you can replace this with butter if you wish)
1 cup of warm water
1 tablespoon of sugar

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Making bread with kids

Although I normally cook with the kids on the kitchen counter with them standing on a footstool – because of kneading the bread I have found that the kids find it easier to make bread at the table where they can knead the dough easier.

1. First off add the dry ingredients to a large bowl and mix well.

2. Make a well in the middle and add in the oil and the warm water (it should be hand hot and no more).

3. Stir the mix until it comes together and then turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead.

4. A tip that I learnt from watching The Great British Bake Off – lightly oil your hands and the dough won’t attach as easily.

5. It takes about 5 – 10 minutes to knead the dough into a nice smooth dough, and I often find myself taking a turn with the kids as well.

6. Once the dough is kneaded and smooth make into shapes that you want and then put it in a warm place (room temperature in spring and summer is fine) to let the dough rise and to double in size (the proofing process) covered with plastic wrap or towel – this takes around an hour.

7. Decorate if you wish

8. Preheat the oven to 180C (my setting for my fan assisted oven)

9. Add to a greased loaf pan or onto a baking tray

10. Then bake for 15 – 20 minutes for rolls, 20 – 30 minutes for loaves. They should have a golden brown crust and when turned over the bread when tapped should be hollow sounding.

11. Leave on a wire rack to cool if you can before you slice for your lunch.

Printable Recipe Card and Booklet for this Simple Bread Recipe

We now have the Easy Bread Dough Recipe as a visual recipe card in our store. For you as a parent the easy recipes here on Rainy Day Mum are set up as printed sheets like the image above.

For your older kids we have created a recipe booklet that contains the recipe so that they can flip through and follow as they cook.

The recipe card can be purchased by clicking on the button below.

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Why not bake this bread and then serve on this handmade Breaking Breadboard from Etsy. It’s made in the UK and ships World Wide.

This is by far the best cooking with kids set I have found that includes everything that you need to start cooking and baking. The apron is ideal to grow with your child and the knives included will cut through fruit and vegetables but not skin so they are great for learning to use a knife safely.

More Easy Recipes to Cook at Home with Kids

• Yummy Pizza Wheels to Cook with Kids
• Easy Jam Tarts
• Thumbprint Cookies with a recipe for homemade strawberry jam as well