My bread shall be the anguish of my mind ~ Edmund Spenser. Most of the people around the world, have at least once in their lifetime, eaten a loaf of bread. What is bread? Bread is a food product produced from flour and other leaving agents, kneaded and shaped into loaves. These loaves are baked into breads. Flour is a fine powder of various cereals and grains or even roots. From many civilizations, bread the staple food of many cultures is prepared from flour. Wheat flour is the main ingredient of bread in many European style breads and pastries. In America, maize flour has been the main ingredient in many Mesoamerican cuisines. The most common bread produced in Europe and America is the raised bread. It is made of wheat or rye and contains protein substance gluten. During leavening, gluten traps gas produced by fermentation and makes the bread rise. This basic bread recipe has flour, water and yeast as the only ingredients. Today, there are many commercially produced flour and salt mixtures available that contain a leavening agent. These are known as self-rising flour and bread produced from it is known as self-rising flour bread. Bread Recipes Using Self-raising Flour Homemade Self-raising Flour Recipe The simplest way of making self-raising flour at home is given below. Do try making your own home-made self-raising flour instead of buying one available in the market. Use this flour for baking innovative and delicious breads in your kitchen. Ingredients

• 4 c. all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons double-acting baking powder

Method of Preparation Mix all ingredients together and store in a tightly sealed jar. Use your homemade self-rising flour in recipes. Banana and Mango Bread Recipe Don't you love eating fruits that are not only healthy, but also taste heavenly. Try using a common fruit like banana and an exotic fruit like mango together and create your very own self-raising flour bread. The recipe for this 'mangolisious' bread is given below: Ingredients

• 1 cup butter
• 1¼ cup brown sugar (packed)
• 3 large eggs
• 3 cups self-rising flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg
• 1½ cup mashed ripe bananas
• 1 small, ripe, peeled and purée mango
• 1 cup golden raisins
• ½ cup chopped walnuts

Method of Preparation In a bowl, cream the butter with sugar until fluffy and beat in eggs, one at a time, until the ingredients have incorporated. In another bowl, combine self-raising flour with salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. In a third bowl, combine mashed bananas with mango purée. Alternately, mix the dry ingredients and banana mixture, into the creamed mixture until batter is just combined; fold in raisins and nuts. Pour batter into 2 greased 8½ by 4½ inch loaf pans. Bake at 350 ºF for 50 - 60 minutes or until cake tester inserted in the center test is done. Leave the bread in the pan for 10 minutes. Then, remove from loaf pans and let it cool on racks. Your bread recipe with bananas and mango is ready. Cheddar-Dill Bread Recipe Hmm, there are so many uses of Cheddar cheese. Try using Cheddar as an ingredient for making bread instead of eating along with a slice of bread. Just follow the simple recipe given below and make yummy breads. Ingredients

• 2 cups self-rising flour
• ¼ cup butter
• 1 cup Cheddar cheese
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons dill weed
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup milk

Method of Preparation In a large bowl combine flour and sugar. Cut in butter, so that it becomes crumbly and stir in the cheese and dill into it. In a small bowl, beat egg and milk and pour into dry ingredients and stir just until moistened. Pour the batter into a greased 8 x 4 x 2 loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 - 40 minutes or until bread tests done. Leave the bread in the pan for 10 minutes. Then, remove from loaf pans and let cool on racks. Your bread with cheddar and dill is ready. Cherry-Banana Bread Recipe Ingredients

• 2 overripe bananas
• 1/3 cup butter, soft
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 cup dried cherries
• 2 cups self-rising flour

Method of Preparation Preheat oven to 325 ºF. In a large bowl mash bananas and add butter, sugar, eggs and honey. Mix well. Mix in the mashed bananas, dried cherries, raisins or nuts. Immediately mix in the self-rising flour. Grease 8.5 x 4.5 x 2.5 inch bread pan. Add batter into greased bread pan and bake at 325 ºF for 1 hour or until done. Leave the bread in the pan for 10 minutes. Then, remove from loaf pans and let it cool on racks. Your self bread with cherry and banana is ready. Serve warm or cold. (If you want to freeze the bread, let it cool completely and then wrap it up and place it in the freezer). Coconut Bread Recipe Would you like to try bread with the flavor of coconut? Does it not remind you of scrumptious coconut cookies? I am sure you would love to try the following recipe using self-raising flour to make coconut cookies. Ingredients

• 4 cups flaked, sweetened coconut
• 2 cups self rising flour
• ½ cup unsalted, softened butter
• ½ cup sugar
• 2 eggs

Method of Preparation Preheat oven to 350°F before starting making the bread. Take a 9- by 5- by 3-inch loaf pan. Butter and flour the pan and make sure you knock out excess flour. Now, take a large shallow baking pan that is about 1 inch deep. Spread about 3 cups of coconut in it. Place it in the oven and toast it till golden brown for about 20 to 25 minutes. Make sure you keep a watch as the flakes on the edges may burn quickly. Allow the pan to cool for about 15 minutes on a rack. Then, grind them in a food processor to form a coarse meal. Let the oven on while you proceed further with your bread recipe. Take a large bowl and mix the self-raising flour, ground coconut and the remaining untoasted coconut. Beat butter and sugar in another bowl using an electric hand mixer. Keep the speed at medium and beat until the butter is creamy. To this add the eggs one at a time and beat thoroughly . In the flour mixture add one cup of water and whisk properly. Then add you egg mixture and blend till smooth. Pour this batter into the loaf pan that has been buttered. Use a spatula to smooth the top and place the pan in the middle of the oven. Bake for about 1 hour 10 minutes. A wooden skewer should be inserted in the center to check if the bread has been baked evenly. Cool the bread on a rack for about 10 to 15 minutes. Then, remove from pan and place the right side up on the rack to cool for the next 2 hours. Once the bread is cool, cut it into slices and enjoy your coconut bread. This highly sustaining food product is very easy and quick to make at home. Enjoy a warm loaf of bread for your meals - breakfast, lunch or dinner, that is freshly baked in your kitchen. I would say, there is no other aroma that would incite the feeling of hunger like the freshly baked self-rising flour bread, one of mankind's greatest invention.