Bread, The Staff of Life...

I am re posting my bread recipe since it makes a great gift and welcome addition to any meal or snack!   Simple (white) bread is very easy to make and so much tastier than what you buy in the store.  You probably have all the ingredients in your pantry!  This particular recipe makes two loaves, which is good, because this bread does not last long around here!  It freezes very well.  Freshly baked bread, with a jar of homemade jam, jelly, or herb butter makes a great holiday, hostess or housewarming gift.

Ingredients you will need:

1 Cup of milk (can be whole, skim, nonfat)
2 T. butter
1/2 Cup warm water
2 Pkgs. active dry yeast
2 T. Sugar
1 T. Salt
1 Cup warm water
6 to 7 Cups of unbleached bread flour

Preparing the Bread

Heat 1 cup of milk and 2 tablespoons of butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Remove this mixture as soon as the butter has melted.  Set it aside to cool.

Pour 1/2 cup of warm water into a small bowl and slowly stir in both of the yeast packages.  Stirring the yeast helps prevent clumps.  Set this aside once it is thoroughly mixed.

Mix together sugar, salt, and 1 cup of warm water in a large bowl.

If the melted butter and milk mixture is warm to the touch, but not hot, pour it into the large bowl and mix.  Otherwise, give it a few more minutes to cool down, then go ahead and mix.

Make sure the mixture is warm, not hot, before pouring in the yeast water, so it doesn't kill the yeast, thereby   keeping your dough from rising! Mix well.

Mix in the flour, 1 cup at a time.  I use my stand mixer with a dough hook.  You can use a handheld mixer with a dough attachment if you like, to save your arms.  Your arms work fine too, but they will get a workout later, when you have to knead the dough, so it's up to you!

Towards the 5th or 6th cup of flour, the dough will begin to get more stiff.  Turn it onto a floured surface and begin to knead it, adding flour until the dough becomes smooth.

Grease a large bowl with butter or olive oil.  Place the dough in the bowl and turn it over so it is covered in the butter or oil.  Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and let the dough rise until it's doubled in size or about an hour.

Once the dough has risen, punch it down.  Turn it out onto a floured surface and knead out all the "bubbles". Divide the dough in half and make each half a loaf, placing each in a greased loaf pan.  Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise until double in size, about 30 minutes.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Once the dough has risen, place loaves in the oven for approximately 45 minutes or until you knock on the top of the loaf and have a nice golden crust.  Take the bread out of the oven and place on a cooling rack and cool for a few minutes before cutting.

I store this bread in the fridge (in a sealed zip top bag), because, unlike "store bought" bread, it has no preservatives.  This bread will mold and get stale and hard!   This bread also makes awesome croutons and bread pudding.