Homemade White Bread
Ingredients
2-1/2 c. warm water
1 heaping Tablespoon yeast
1/4 c. white sugar
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1 heaping Tablespoon salt
1/2 c. sour cream or Dough enhancer/conditioner (optional)
5-1/2 to 6 c. all-purpose flour (you may need up to 6-1/2 cups flour depending on the flour you use)
Additional 1/2 to 3/4 c. all-purpose flour for kneading
Directions
Dissolve yeast (I love the saf-instant brand yeast) in warm water and 1 tablespoon of the white sugar
Stir together with wire whisk and allow mixture to sit for 10 minutes. (The sugar helps activate the yeast and the mixture will get a frothy look after sitting for 10 minutes).
Stirring with wire whisk add remaining sugar, oil, salt and sour cream or dough enhancer. (Make sure all those ingredients are well incorporated).
Add all-purpose flour one cup at a time, switching from a wire whisk to a heavy-duty spatula after about 4 cups of flour. (Dough will form a soft ball and be a consistency that is ready to knead. If you can’t handle the dough without you hands getting really gooey, just add a bit more flour).
Pour about 1/2 c. flour on counter surface and spread into a circle, making ready for kneading the dough.
During the kneading process you may need to add small amounts of flour at a time to keep the dough from sticking to the counter. Don’t be afraid! I like to knead my dough about 25-30 times.
The dough will have a smooth and elastic feel when it’s ready to put in the bowl to rise. I like a good size greased stainless steel bowl for the bread while rising.
Allow the dough to raise double in size (about 1-1/2 to 2 hours) in a warm, draft free spot in your kitchen.
I love punching down the dough after it has finished rising. I have lovely memories with our children punching bread dough! I simply take my fist and punch the dough while it’s still in the bowl.
I then turn it out onto a freshly floured surface and knead it a couple of times and make out two loaves. Place each loaf into a greased bread pan and allow to rise again until double in size (about 45-60 minutes).
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Gently place loaves into the oven and bake about 40-45 minutes
After about 25 minutes of baking I brush each loaf with some melted butter, it gives the bread a golden appearance!
I absolutely love my probing thermometer for bread baking. After the loves have been in the oven about 30 minutes I put the probe into one of the loaves and when the internal temperature of the bread is 200 degrees it is ready to come out of the oven.
After removing the bread from the oven I allow the loaves to sit a couple minutes and then brush them again with butter. We simply love warm bread and jam!