For those who are asking for a good white bread recipe, this is one I like a lot. It’s dense and a little sweet but not too sweet. It makes really good toast too.
Ingredients:
2 cups warm water
2/3 cup white sugar
1-1/2 T. dry yeast
1-1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil or melted butter
6 cups flour
Directions:
In a large bowl, dissolve sugar in warm water. Stir in yeast and let sit for 5 minutes.
Mix salt and oil/butter into the yeast. Add flour, one cup at a time. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface til smooth. Place in a well oiled bowl, turn dough to coat. Cover loosely with oiled plastic wrap. Allow to rise til doubled .. about 1 hour.
Punch dough down. Knead for a few minutes and divide in half. Shape into two loaves and placed in two well oiled 9″ x 5″ loaf pans. Allow to rise for 30 minutes or til dough has risen 1″ above sides of pan.
Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
A few tips for those who have not made bread or need help.
- Make sure your water isn’t too hot to kill the yeast or too cool to activate it. Get yourself an instant read thermometer or any good kitchen thermometer will do. The water should be between 105º and 112º when adding directly to the yeast.
- It’s best to use salt that does NOT contain iodine.
- When making bread, after a bit of experience, you will know how bread dough needs to feel. Adding too much flour may result in a loaf that is too dry and the bread will be hard and crumbly. Adding too little flour will result in a loaf that will not hold it’s shape and will tear easily when sliced.
- There’s a big difference in the flour available. Bread flour is available in pretty much every store and it’s fine. In my opinion, King Arthur is better than regular bread flour but it can be tricky to find. My favorite all purpose four is Wheat Montana Prairie Gold and short of mail order, it’s probably difficult to find.
- Treat your recipe as a “guide”. It doesn’t have to be followed exactly! Once you have a recipe that has worked for someone you trust, keep working with that one recipe. Don’t jump from recipe to recipe. The first time you make your bread, it may not be the best but pay close attention to everything you do. Next time you make it, if you want different results, try changing one thing. If you change several things at once, you won’t know what worked or what didn’t so maybe try adding less or more flour, or kneading longer or less time.
- Depending on the size pan, the size of your oven, and whether or not your thermostat is exactly correct, you may need to adjust your baking time. What takes 30 minutes for me might take 25 or 35 for you.
- Bread making isn’t something that will work for one and not for another. If you want homemade bread, you can have it but like everything else, it may take a little practice and a bit of patience.
CJ says
I don’t make a lot of bread in the summer, for some reason it doesn’t want to rise very well for me. I don’t really get it, I have the a/c on. As soon as the hot summer months are over, my bread is fine again. Do you have this problem or am I just weird? LOL
JudyL says
Not saying you’re weird but that’s weird. Most people have better luck with their bread rising in the summer than in the winter. I don’t have any suggestions. Maybe someone else will.
mary Hopkins says
YUMMM!!! I used to make bread all the time. Yours looks so good, I night just have to start again!
Chris says
It looks delish, pass the butter. Is there any secret to the rising? Does it need to rest in a warm place or just out on the kitchen counter? I would like to try making bread without using my bread maker. Thank you. Chris
JudyL says
I leave mine on the kitchen counter. In the winter, my kitchen is sometimes in the lower 60’s. In the summer, if I’m downstairs and don’t have the a/c running upstairs, the kitchen temp may get into the upper 70’s. For me, it takes longer for the bread to rise if the kitchen is cold. There’s nothing wrong with letting the bread rise 2 hours instead of 1 hour if your kitchen is cold or, if it rises in 30 minutes instead of an hour if your kitchen is way warm.
Ursula says
I’m gonna have to try this recipe. This past weekend I succeeded in baking two bricks.
JudyL says
If you try again, will you please let me know what happens? Good luck.
June Piper-Brandon says
I might try this. I’ve never had any success with bread, mine always turns out like a brick. I may try this because I love home made bread and this looks good. I use sea salt for everything at home, have you ever tried that in bread?
JudyL says
I have used sea salt and I have used salt with iodine and honestly have never noticed much difference.
ruth anne says
If you answer in of the above questions, please let me know too. I did just make homemade Bisquick and used it for dumplings and they were very good. But I need to progress to bread as we are 2 hrs from a good bakery who uses Montana Gold flour. I can buy it there but it is 7.00 per lb.
Dawn says
mmmmmmm……I can smell it from here…
dont you wish we had smellaputer? (like smellavision for tv with smells, this would be smelling through the computer)
You are one busy busy gal.
But a gal of my own heart. Wish I could stay home and quilt and make bread and can. I was always told I should have been born an Amish woman. LOL
Dawn in MA
Cindy LeCamus says
This really sounds and looks delicious…I can’t have white bread, so do you have suggestions or recipe for whole wheat bread? Oh, and would you know how to cook brown rice that is not hard or mushy? Shouldn’t be looking at so much food when I am hungry. cindy
Kathy says
I use this recipe (found it here) and usually make it substituting 2 cups of whole wheat bread flour, and the rest white bread flour. I get it in the health foods section of the grocery store in bulk. (Also a great place to find spices in bulk and much less expensive than the ones in the spices section) I put a glass 9×13 pan filled with hot water from the tap on the bottom shelf of the oven and set the dough to rise on the rack above it and close the oven door, makes a warm spot. I replace the water for the second rising. I have shared this recipe many times, it is a big hit every time I serve it.
ursula says
Well, I don’t know what I’m doing wrong but my bread always tastes yeasty. I would appreciate any help I can get. I’m determined to make bread if it kills me.
Irene in NC says
Thank you for this recipe – I have ben making it for two weeks now and have taken it to several potlucks…it has been a big hit everywhere! Yesterday morning, I halved the recipe (there is only two of us) and made cinnamon rolls out of it – also a big success! This triggered another idea: next time, I will use milk instead of water – yum!
Terry JohnsonTerry says
Thanks for sharing recipe and directions. ThIs Is On My Bucket List.