White Bread

I know shame on me for making white bread, but my grinder has not made it to my house yet from moving!! (Yea, nice excuse!!) I have 2 favorite bread recipes right now and thought I would share! You can substitute with half wheat flour or just enjoy it as it is!!

Perfect White Bread
(from allrecipes.com)

2 cups milk, scalded
2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp salt
1 tbsp shortening
1 pkg active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsps)
1/4 cup warm water
6 cups bread flour (I have only ever used 4-4 1/2 cups, so be careful not to add too much!)

In a small saucepan, heat milk until it bubbles. Remove from heat and add the sugar, salt, and shortening. Cool to lukewarm. While milk mixture is cooling, dissolve yeast in warm water and let stand until creamy.

Combine cooled milk with yeast and water in a large mixing bowl. Stir in 2 cups of flour, and then add remaining flour a 1/2 cup at a time to make a moderately stiff dough. ( I add until the dough comes off the sides of my mixer) Knead on a lightly floured surface for 8-10 minutes, or until smooth and elastic. ( I actually did this in my mixer too!) Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl and turn to coat the dough. Cover the bowl with a damp towel and let rise in a warm place until the dough has doubled in volume (about 1 1/4 hours).

Lightly grease two bread loaf pans. Punch down dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Shape into 2 balls, cover and let rest 10 minutes. Shape dough into 2 loaves and place in pans; let rise until doubled (about 1 hour) Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Bake for 35 minutes or until the top is golden and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.



Mom's Bread
(my mom has made this bread since I was a kid)

4 cups warm water
4 tbsp yeast
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup oil
1 1/2 tbsp salt
10 cups bread flour

Mix yeast and warm water until yeast starts bubbling. Add remaining ingredients adding about 8 cups of flour and then adding about 1/2 cup at a time until dough pulls off bowl. Raise covered for 30 minutes. Shape dough into 4 loaves and raise in pans for 30 minutes. Bake 375 for 30 minutes!