Homemade white bread

This recipe is my new favorite, and I love to make this bread often. I love it better than my bread machine bread. It is just as easy too! Not a lot of work to it at all! You can make bread! Please don't be intimidated!

First, let me say you don't need any fancy equipment either. It is easy with a bowl, wooden spoon, measuring cups and spoons and loaf pans. Seriously, that is all you have to have to make bread. It is easier if you have a kitchen aid or other stand mixer with a dough hook though. It helps with the kneading, which only takes about six minutes. Not difficult or time consuming at all!

  

This is ALWAYS in my refrigerator!!  It keeps very well! 

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White Bread

Makes 2 loaves

INGREDIENTS

3 cups luke-warm water

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 Tbsp. yeast

1/3 cup oil

1 Tbsp. salt

6 - 7 cups White Lily Unbleached Bread Flour  (unbleached ground white wheat flour can be used and you can use regular all-purpose flour with success as well.) I always use White Lily Unbleached Bread Flour and for this recipe, about 7 cups. Kroger and Walmart both carry it in the baking isle.

DIRECTIONS

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water and sugar. Let sit 10 minutes. Add the oil. Add the dry ingredients starting with 6 cups of flour. Mix all together. Knead the dough thoroughly until all ingredients are incorporated, and dough is smooth, elastic, very slightly sticky, and pulls away from the bowl (6-10 minutes). As you knead the dough, you may add more flour as needed, and repeat the process until dough reaches the desired consistency. 

Cover the bowl of dough with a dish towel or plastic wrap and let rise until doubled (an hour or more depending on how warm your kitchen is.) You may speed up this process by placing the covered bowl inside the oven with the oven light on, and another bowl of warm water sitting on the lower rack.

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Punch the dough down, divide and and form into 2 loaves. Place the dough in 2 greased bread pans. (I use 9" pans.) Cover and let rise till the top of the dough is an inch or two above the bread pans.

Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes. Remove the baked loaves from their pans immediately, and place on a cooling rack. Slice, and serve warm with butter and honey.

Store in an air-tight bag. Baked loaves AND bread dough freeze well. 

This bread also makes most excellent french toast. You will find my recipe for french toast in this blog. 

I believe in giving credit where it is due, and this recipe comes from Pennies and Pancakes Blog. Here is a link.  http://penniesandpancakes.blogspot.com/2012/09/grandmas-country-white-bread.html#.Ubnolm_AfcA

**some pictures are mine, some are from *Google images