Homemade White Bread

"Olive "'s Note:

I make bread almost every week, and have made this particular bread recipe longer than I care to admit. It is soft, light, airy, and tastes wonderful. This recipe never fails me.

• Total Time: 45 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 2

Yield: 2.0 loaves

• 2 (1/4 ounce) packages active dry yeast (regular not rapid rise)
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup canola oil or 1/2 cup light tasting olive oil
• 2 cups hot water (hot to the touch from the tap)
• 1/3 cup powdered milk
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 cups bread flour

Directions:

1. Note: If you do not have powdered milk, you can heat 2 cups of milk, or 1 cup milk & 1 cup water; whichever you prefer, in a small saucepan to 120 degrees on a candy thermometer and omit the 2 cups of water.
2. Grease a large mixing bowl and set aside. In another large mixing bowl, add the yeast, salt, sugar, oil, & hot water. With a mixer, mix all those ingredients for 2 minutes. Add 2 cups of flour and the powdered milk. Mix for another 2 minutes. With a wooden spoon, stir in 3 cups of bread flour. Remove the dough from the bowl out onto a lightly floured counter top or table.
3. Begin to knead the dough. You may need to sprinkle a little flour on your dough or counter top a couple of times as you knead until it doesn’t stick to your surface any more. Knead the dough for 10 minutes until smooth & elastic.
4. Take dough & place in the greased bowl; flip the dough over so greased side is up. Cover with a piece of plastic wrap; don’t tighten it down, just lay it over the bowl loosely….or you can use a small tea towel too. But the plastic helps it from drying out too much.
5. Let it rise until double in a warm place -- a sunny window or on a warm clothes dryer that is running. It can rise as quickly as 45 minutes in those warm places. Otherwise, it can take up to 1 hour to 1 ½ hours depending on the temperature in your house.
6. Lightly grease 2 bread loaf pans with shortening. Divide dough in half & shape into a bread loaf pans. Cover with kitchen towel and let rise until doubled.
7. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake for about 30-40 minute (everyone's oven temperature varies, so keep that in mind) Loaves should be golden brown on top. Remove from oven. Remove loaves from pans onto a wire rack.
8. Take a wet paper towel, and it can be really good & wet, & wipe off the tops of the baked loaves of bread. This does not make your bread soggy. It keeps the bread crust soft! But, you can skip this step if you want.
9. And….if you insist on cutting a slice of bread before it is cool, use a electric knife or a large serrated bread knife so the loaf don’t get squashed down when you are cutting it. Spread some butter on your slice of bread and enjoy!

Reviews

[ShantillyC]

I have tried soooooo many bread recipes and this has got to be one of the best!! It is very light and yummy. I didn't change a thing and I wouldn't dare. I made 1 loaf of bread and I used the other half of dough to make cinnimon rolls. They were also great. Thank you for sharing your recipe, it's my new favorite for bread.

[hummingbirdsweetie]

I've been searching for THE loaf of bread recipe that I can use every week for my husband's lunches as he got spoiled with bakery bread and it was costing us more and more each week to buy it! THIS is THE recipe I have been looking for and we both love it. I make the big batch but before I put it on for the first rise, I cut the dough in half and let one half go through the rise functions but put the other half in the freezer for the following week's loaf.

I use my standard "Classic" KitchenAid mixer up to a point when the dough starts going up over the dough hook (I find I have to add more flour than the 5 cups in the recipe and I use the powdered milk) and when it gets to that point I take it out and finish the kneading on the counter.(Our next mixer is going to be a more powerful one when I wear this one out LOL)

I absolutely love this recipe, thank you SO much for posting it!! I registered at this site just to give this review and I don't do that for just any recipe :)

[cynthia mcelwain]

i make bead all the time an it was snowing so i tried this an my mom was here an she is the queen of bread making IT WAS THE BEST WE HAVE SENT IT OUT TO MANY PEOPLE THANK YOU