Let’s get something out of the way right off the bat here.

Bacon is life.

Okay, now that we have that out of the way…

Welcome back! Today, I have for you one of the greatest discoveries of mankind combined with another amazing human discovery – BACON and BREAD.

Like with the Ishgardian Muffins, I started making this the night before so that it would have plenty of time to rise. The first thing I did was cook the bacon.

Since I love the taste of bacon but am not so fond of watching my food swim around in grease, I did vigorously attempt to remove said grease with paper towels.

I set that aside so that it could cool and got to work on making the dough.

It was a pretty basic dough. I considered adding some cheese but decided that bacon was enough and stuck to the basics.

I covered my little ball of bacon and flour with plastic wrap and let it sit overnight. Checking on bread after it’s been rising for awhile is a little like Christmas morning. Is it there? Did the magic happen? Have all of my hopes and dreams been shattered?!

Christmas all over again, I tell you!

This was really the first recipe I made for this cookbook that required careful measurement. Tossing some ingredients into a bowl for soup is one thing, but baking is in a world of its own. I have a decent amount of baking experience, though, so I came into this pretty well prepared. That being said, I’ve never actually made a baking recipe from scratch by myself before, so I’m very proud of this! What’s not to love?!

Keep in mind that unlike with the quiche crust, this is bread. You can literally toss this at a wall repeatedly and it will be the better for it. Don’t be afraid to mix well. I also let this rise overnight rather than the stated three hours, but sometimes life happens and you forget to make things the night before. Three hours should be plenty.

Anyway, I don’t want to keep you waiting, so I’ll let you get on with making your very own Bacon Bread!

This was created in conjunction with (and pairs very well with!) two recipes that I will be posting later this week: Landtrap Salad and Fried Eggs. Stay tuned – and enjoy this bacon bread to your heart’s content!

Bacon Bread

Ingredients: 

• 10 – 12 slices bacon
• 1/4 cup warm water
• 3/4 cup milk
• 2 1/4 tsp yeast + 1/2 tsp sugar
• 2 1/2 cup flour
• 1 tsp salt

Directions

Cook bacon according to package directions. Pat dry with a paper towel to remove as much grease as possible. Once cool, crumble into small pieces. Set aside. 

In a small bowl, combine yeast, sugar, and warm water. Stir a few times, then cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Slowly add the milk and yeast mixture to the flour, mixing well. Stir in the bacon bits and knead the dough several times with your hands until everything is well combined. Form into a ball, cover, and let rise in a warm place for at least 3 hours or until the dough has doubled in size. 

Fill a metal pan with water and set in the oven, then preheat oven to 400°F. The steam will give the bread a nice crust. Punch down the dough and knead a few times, form it back into a ball, then cover it and let it rest another 30 minutes. Grease and flour baking dish, sprinkle the dough with some flour, and bake for 30 minutes, until crust is golden brown and dough is cooked all the way through. Enjoy!