Coca-Cola bread/Photo byGin Lee

Coca-Cola bread

If you enjoy super soft loaves of bread, then you will absolutely fall in love with this Coca-Cola bread recipe. Just take one bite, and you'll be hooked! I know without a doubt that I am. Today I am using my bread machine, but you can also make it by hand. Just let the dough rest for an hour after mixing it by hand. (I will leave my step-by-step instructions for both below.)

Ingredients:

• 3-3/4 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon of Splenda or sugar
• 2-1/4 teaspoons of rapid yeast
• 2 mini-sized (7.5-ounce) cans of Diet Coke or regular Coca-Cola
• 1 teaspoon of seasoning salt (I used Mrs. Dash).
• 3 tablespoons of canola oil for the dough, plus a little more if you're making the dough by hand to be used for greasing the bread pan.
• 2 tablespoons of melted butter to brush over the dough when baking it in the oven.

Instructions for making the bread in a bread machine:

Preparing Coca-Cola bread in a bread machine/Photo byGin Lee

First, in your bread machine pan, add the flour, yeast, Splenda or sugar, seasoning salt, canola oil, and two mini Diet Cokes or regular Coca-Colas.

Shut the lid on your bread machine.

Press the button for basic bread. On my machine, it's number one. Allow the machine to mix the dough and bake it. I wanted my loaf of bread to be cooked lightly, so I also made sure that was set.

Cola-Cola bread dough on the second rest inside a bread machine/Photo byGin Lee

Instructions for making the bread by hand:

Add 3-3/4 cups of all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon of Splenda or sugar, 2-1/4 teaspoons of rapid yeast, 2 mini-sized (7.5-ounce) cans of Diet Coke or regular Coca-Cola, 1 teaspoon of seasoning salt (I used Mrs. Dash), and 3 tablespoons of canola oil together in a large bowl.

Knead the dough, then brush it with canola oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rest for one hour.

Punch the dough down and place it into a greased bread pan. Allow the dough to rest again for another 30 minutes.

After the second rest, melt two tablespoons of butter and brush it on the top of the dough.

Bake the bread for 30 to 35 minutes in a 350-degree oven. Allow your bread to cool. Then slice it and enjoy!

Instructions for braided dough:

After the first rest, cut the dough in half. Now cut the halves into thirds. Roll each piece of dough out into long rope shapes.

Now, lay each piece of rolled-out dough side by side. Connect all the pieces at one end by pinching them together. Then French-braid the dough. Once you get the dough braided, pinch the end in just as you did the top part of the dough.

Place the dough on a baking stone or a greased cooking tray. Allow the dough to rest again for another 30 minutes.

Melt two tablespoons of butter and brush it on the top of the dough, or if you prefer, use an egg wash instead.

Bake the bread for 30 to 35 minutes in a 350-degree oven. Allow your bread to cool. Then slice it and enjoy!