Lately I have been baking at least 5 loaves of bread at a time. So I can either give them away or freeze them to use periodically throughout our month. There's nothing like homemade bread. Here is the recipe I use. I believe it is fool proof. All you fools out there should try it and let me know if it works out. J/K. All of my friends are very wise. :)
Basic White Bread by Becky Jones
1/2 C. low-fat milk
3 Tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. salt
3 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. yeast
1 ½ C. warm water
5-6 C. all-purpose flour
Place milk, sugar, salt, and butter in small bowl. Heat in microwave until butter is almost all the way melted. Set aside and let cool a bit. Dissolve yeast in water and let sit until bubbley. Mix 4 ½ C. flour to yeast mixture and also add milk mixture. Mix about 5 minutes. Add remaining flour and knead for another 5 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic. Dough is slightly sticky. Place dough in greased bowl, grease top of dough. Cover with damp cloth or plastic wrap. Let rise in warm place until double in size. Punch down, divide in half and shape each into a loaf. Place in loaf pans and cover. Let rise until double in size. Bake 400 degrees for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans and lightly brush with butter. Remove from pans immediately (so they don’t get soggy). Cool & enjoy.
Ideas found from KitchenAid Recipe Book.
Bread Tips:
To form a perfect loaf: roll out into a rectangle. A rolling pin will smooth dough and remove gas bubbles. Roll up like you would cinnamon rolls. Pinch dough to seal seam. Pinch ends and turn under. Place seam side down, in loaf pan. Let rise until double and then bake.
One rising method is to turn the oven on to 400 degrees for one minute and then turn it off; place the bowl on the center rack and close the door. Cover with a towel to protect from drafts.
I like to replace some of the white flour with wheat, add whole grains, sunflower seeds, oats, etc. Improvise the way you like it.
