It's magical how just a few ingredients can come together and turn into a fresh loaf of bread and now, when you make Homemade Bread in the Ninja Foodi, it takes half the time!

The Benefits of Making Homemade Bread

One of the biggest benefits of making homemade bread is you know exactly what is going into the bread; you control the ingredients! I absolutely love that.

It also costs a lot less! Have you seen the prices of bread lately? Some of them are over $4.00 a loaf. You can make your own bread for under $1.00!

Homemade bread tastes better! I know, I know... this is debatable. There are some crazy good Artisan breads out there, but there is just something about the flavor of bread you make yourself that is simply divine!

Making homemade bread is therapeutic. It is. I promise. Especially when you knead the dough yourself like we are going to do in this recipe. The turning and pressing of a dough ball is a great way to relax your mind and really feel the dough you are working with. It's amazing how it turns from a rough looking dough ball into a beautiful smooth ball of dough, and then you serve it for dinner. Nothing better in my book.

The Benefits of Making Homemade Bread in the Ninja Foodi

It's super easy! Except for mixing and kneading, everything is done right in the Ninja Foodi. This takes the intimidation factor right out of making homemade bread. Even if you have never made bread before, you can follow and be successful with this recipe.

If you are already a bread making genius, you can save a ton of time by making homemade bread in the Ninja Foodi!

No guess work. When making homemade bread in the Ninja Foodi, you are able to set the functions and the time and you do not have to guess about time or temperatures. Everything is controlled for you right in the Ninja Foodi. I love it and you will too!

Humidity and temperatures won't matter. Because we are proofing the homemade bread in the Ninja Foodi, your bread rise won't be affected if it is cold or hot and humid in your kitchen. You can make the same loaf of bread on the sunniest day and the rainiest.

It's pretty much fail-proof for all of these reasons and it's also fun! Get the kids involved, they will love it. I do recommend an adult get the bread out when it is finished baking because the inner pot of the Ninja Foodi will be hot and we don't want any accidental burns.

What you'll need to make Homemade Bread in the Ninja Foodi

• Flour
• Instant or Active Dry Yeast
• Sugar (this is optional)
• Salt (I use fine grind sea salt)
• Water
• A clean towel
• Cutting Board or Pastry Mat
• Ninja Foodi

Tips for making Homemade Bread in the Ninja Foodi

Take your time and enjoy the process. Even though we are cutting the bread making time basically in half, there is still a time investment. Get the most out of it by letting your hands and arms do the work kneading while your mind gets a few minutes of relaxation. There is nothing too technical or difficult about making bread, the ingredients will do what they do and your only job is to assist them.

Allow enough time for cooling. No one wants to cut into their freshly made loaf of bread more than I do... but, we must wait. The cooking continues after the bread is removed from the Ninja Foodi and if you cut into it right away, you disturb that process and can end up with an underdone and gummy bread. It's the hardest part for sure, but important. If you absolutely cannot wait 20-30 minutes for it to cool, then don't cut the bread with a knife, rip it with your hands.

Refrigerate or Freeze left over bread. Unlike store-bought bread, there aren't any preservatives in the bread you make at home. While this is a great thing for our bodies, it does allow for quick and unwanted mold growth. Also make sure to allow the bread to cool completely before wrapping and freezing or steam will form and, after freezing, you will end up with ice crystals on your bread. This is also a good idea before refrigerating too. Any moisture formed by steam will make your crust soggy in the fridge.

How to Proof Bread without the Dehydration Function

You do not need any special equipment to proof bread, simply putting it in an oiled bowl with a damp towel covering it and letting it sit on the counter away from drafts is just fine.

It usually takes about an hour or so to proof bread on the counter, unless your kitchen is very warm or very cold. If it's very warm, it will take less time and if it's very cold, it will take longer.

The most important thing is not the time it takes, but that it doubles in size. This creates the nice texture of your bread.

I like to use the dehydration function on the Ninja Foodi for a perfectly controlled environment to proof bread in half the time it takes on the counter, but don't worry if you don't have that function.

Not all of the Ninja Foodi models have the dehydration function, but you can still proof your bread in half the time using the bake roast function.

After you have your dough mixed up and before you begin to knead it, put the TenderCrisp lid down and select bake/roast on 250°F/121°C for 5 minutes. Once the time is done, leave the lid closed while you knead the bread. Waiting about 5 minutes before putting the bread in to the Foodi will give the pot time to cool down some. If the pot is still really hot, let it sit with the lid open for a few minutes. You should be able to touch the bottom without it burning you. If it is too hot, you can start to cook the bread and/or kill the yeast.

After you knead your bread and form the ball, drizzle about 1 tablespoon of olive oil in the inner pot and place the dough ball in the inner pot. Oil the top of the bread and cover with a damp towel. Close the TenderCrisp lid and leave the Foodi OFF. Let the residual heat proof your bread. This usually takes about 30-40 minutes.

Okay, let's get to it! Let's make a beautiful loaf of homemade bread in the Ninja Foodi!

The first thing you want to do is gather your ingredients. This is called mise en place or "everything in place." This can really help keep a recipe moving along and also gets you familiar with the ingredients needed. I can't tell you how many times I've started to make a recipe just to realize I'm out of an important ingredient.

Now, let's proof that yeast.  Add 2 ¼ teaspoon of active dry yeast and 2 teaspoon of sugar to about a 1 Tablespoon of warm water. You want the temp of your water to be between 105° F and 110° F. Anything hotter than 115º F will kill the yeast. If you have a thermometer, you can use that. If you don't, use the finger test. You should be able to put your finger in the warm water and leave it there, if you feel the need to pull it out, your water is too hot. It should feel like warm bath water. We proof the yeast to make sure it is still active and going to allow our bread to rise. The yeast eats the sugar and produces CO2 which form bubbles. This lets us know the yeast is alive and active. If no bubbles form after 10 minutes your water could have been too hot or you need to replace your yeast. This is also called blooming the yeast.

Proofing the yeast should take about 5 minutes. *If you are using instant yeast, you can skip the proofing and add the dry yeast to the flour directly.

Combine the flour with the salt and add in the proofed yeast. Use a fork or plastic scraper to combine and slowly add in the rest of the warm water, mixing as you go. You should end up with a very loose mixture.

Turn the mixture out onto a floured surface and begin to knead. I love to use my pastry mat from pampered chef, but a cutting board or clean counter top will work as well. You will want to knead the dough, bringing in more of the loose flour as you go, for about 10-15 minutes or until the dough is smooth and not tacky. When you pull on the dough, it will stretch a bit.

Add about 1 Tablespoon of olive oil to the bottom of inner pot of the Ninja Foodi. Form a ball with your dough, roll the ball in the olive oil. Set the dehydration function to 105º F and cover with a clean, damp kitchen. Allow to rise for 30 minutes in the Ninja Foodi.

Remove the dough from the Ninja Foodi and punch it down. The dough should now be very smooth and stretchy.  Form into a round and place it back into the inner pot of the Ninja Food. Again set the dehydration mode to 105° F, cover with the damp towel and let it rise again for 30 minutes.

Remove the damp towel. Make a few slits in the top of the bread in any design you'd like. You want to these slits to be about 1 inch deep and the sharper the instrument you use, the better. I don't recommend using scissors because it compresses the bread too much. You can even buy special scoring tool called a bread lame for making these cuts for under $10.00. Scoring the bread will allow for expansion during baking and controls the direction in which it expands.

Set the Bake/ Roast function to 325° F and the time for 30 minutes. Remove bread after the time is up and cool on a wire rack at least 20 minutes before cutting. I know, this stinks! We all want to dive right in, don't we? This step is important because the bread is still cooking on the inside and if we interrupt this process you can end up with gummy and underdone bread. Let it cool, guys. If you insist on diving right in, don't cut the bread with a knife, pull it apart with your hands.

Once the bread has cooled, you can cut it and slather it with your favorite toppings 

Congratulations! You just made Homemade Bread in the Ninja Foodi

Watch me make the bread from start to finish; here is the YouTube video:  Homemade Bread in the Ninja Foodi 

If you want to learn more about your Ninja Foodi and a review of its features, check out this article on How to Use the Ninja Foodi

Ninja Foodi One-Pot Meals

Nothing goes better with Bread than a one-pot meal, and you can make them right in the Ninja Foodi.