My favorite white bread recipe makes two loaves. I could divide it in half but it seems crazy to make just one loaf of bread but we don’t like it as well after it’s been in the fridge or if the dough has been frozen so I’m going to try making one loaf of white bread and one loaf of something else. This is the easiest bread recipe – it’s a little sweet, a little dense — we love it and it makes such good toast! I stir it all up by hand and don’t use a mixer or bread machine.
Basic White Bread
2 c. warm water (100 – 110º)
1-1/2 T. yeast (regular)
2/3 c. white granulated sugar
1/4 c. oil
1-1/2 tsp. salt
5 – 6 cups flour
Mix the yeast with the water. Stir in the sugar and let it sit til the yeast bubbles or foams (shouldn’t take more than a few minutes). Pour in oil and stir in about 5 cups of flour, along with the salt. Knead, adding additional flour as needed.
Place in greased bowl, cover and let rise for about an hour. Knead again for about 5 minutes. Divide in half. Placed in greased loaf pans. Let rise til about 1″ above sides of pans. Bake at 350º for 25 – 30 minutes or until the top is brown and sounds hollow when thumped.
Yesterday I made white bread and decided to make pull apart type bread.
The pull apart bread was made with some browned butter in which garlic was added and browned, chopped parsley, a little salt and a little parmesan cheese.
The dough was cut into various size chunks which were rolled into balls.
About every third ball was dipped into the butter/parsley mixture, every third ball was put in plain with nothing added, and every third ball was rolled in the parmesan cheese and they were dropped into a greased pan and let rise, then baked at 350º for about 25 minutes.
This was simple to make, turned out great. We ate this in place of rolls for our Christmas dinner.
Dot in GA says
Could this bread be used as sandwich bread? I do not know what the bread companies are doing but every loaf of bread I buy seems to be old and stale. This seems to be so easy to make.
Hilary McDaniel says
Do you have a fav recipe for whole wheat or rye? I can’t eat white bread as it doesn’t digest well for me. I have to be very careful about not eating processed foods. That’s why I don’t eat much bread. The grainy type breads are so dense they don’t appeal to me.
Deb says
Like you, we always seem to have too much leftover bread. After all, how many croutons and breadcrumbs do we really need to have on hand? So, yesterday I spent too long perusing blogs and websites for recipes for inspiration. Of course, there were other recipes that caught my eye, and they weren’t for bread. Dr. Pepper Peanut Brittle! Yep! Found a neat blog, http://www.homesicktexan.blogspot.com and she had a recipe she adapted from Cooking With Dr. Pepper & 7Up.
Still looking for bread ideas this morning, but found lots of other good ideas on her blog.
Shellie says
That pull apart bread looks so good. Thanks for the recipe. I think I’ll give it a try today.
Joanna says
Judy,
Have you ever tried the “Artisan Bread in 5 minutes a Day” recipes? See this website:http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/2010/02/09/back-to-basics-tips-and-techniques-to-create-a-great-loaf-in-5-minutes-a-day
Makes good bread, minimal prep and kneading and you can keep the dough in the fridge for about a week, making your fresh loaves as needed.
I bake a lot, and love my Italian recipes (Carol Field’s Italian Baker), but the Artisan Bread recipes are pretty good, and definitely fast. We borrowed their book from our local library and enjoyed the cornmeal and oatmeal breads in addition to the basic bread.
Check it out!
Joanna
Doe in Mi says
Okay I’m drooling. That pull apart loaf would be pulled apart if it was here. I used to make 6 loaves of bread every week when my 3 kids were still in school. I had a real small loaf pan and as all loaves were coming out of oven the kids were coming in from school. We all stood in kitchen eating the whole small loaf. It was a fun get together time.
joan s says
I’ve been using your white bread recipe for a while and just love it. Not once (knock wood) has it failed me. Always two beautiful and symmetrical loaves. We always slice and freeze our bread so two loaves lasts us a while. Like the idea of turning one loaf into “something else”.
Pat says
It seems like fun to make that pull-apart one!
Cathy Stoddard says
Judy have you ever added any whole wheat flour to the recipe?
The pull apart looks fabulous! It would probably be made into monkey bread at our house – LOL!!!
Thanks for sharing!
HeideW says
This is a standard recipe in our house and no matter how hard I tried, you just can’t mess this recipe up. My favorite is peanut butter and jelly right after the bread has cooled. Can’t wait to try the pull apart recipe.
Judy, I bought an electric Brinkman Smoker for DH for Xmas. Would love it if you could revisit how you smoked your chicken in yours. No hurry, know you are busy getting settled.
Happy New Year to you and Vince!
Sandra Clarke says
Judy, I know you bake a lot of bread, and until yesterday I had never heard of SAF yeast. Do you ever use this kind of yeast??According to what I read this keeps very well in the freezer. Any comments?? Thanks.