Baking Bread in An Amish Home

By KimberlyB

Ingredients

• 1 package active dry yeast
• 2 1/2 cups lukewarm water
• Lard (the size of an egg); you can substitute shortening here if needed
• 2 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon salt
• Enough bread flour to make a soft dough (usually about 5 cups)

Details

Adapted from amish365.com

Preparation

Step 1

1. Grease pans and set aside.
2. In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in a ½ cup warm water.
3. In a large bowl, combine the lard, sugar, salt and the remaining 2 cups of water.
4. Add the yeast mixture to the bowl and stir until combined.
5. Add the flour, ½ cup at a time, mixing until the dough is elastic and doesn’t stick to the sides of the bowl.
6. Cover the bowl loosely with a damp cloth and let rise until double in size, about 1½ hours in a warm, draft-free
place.
7. Punch the dough down and place on lightly floured surface.
8. Cut the the dough into 2 equal portions.
9. Punch down a little more and form each into a loaf.
10. Place the dough into greased loaf pans.
11. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise again until the dough is level with the loaf pan, about 40-50 minutes.
12. Pierce each loaf several times with a fork.
13. While the dough is rising, preheat oven to 325 degrees.
14. Bake the bread for 40-45 minutes.
15. The bread is done when it sounds hollow when tapped on top.
16. After removing the bread from the over, brush with butter for a softer crust.
17. Remove the bread from the pans and place on cooling rack.
18. The bread freezes well and will keep for up to 6 months.