Basic White Bread

By pmfox

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup warm water ( about 110)
• 1 TBSP active dry yeast
• 2 TBSP granulated sugar
• 2 cups warm milk (about 110)
• 2 TBSP salad oil
• 2 tsp salt
• 6 to 6 1/2 cups all- purpose flour

Preparation

Step 1

Pour water into a measuring cup, add yeast and 1 TBSP of sugar; stir until light colored and bubbly ( about 15 mins); this tells you that the yeast is active and has not been destroyed by excessively hot water.

Pour milk into large bowl(about 4 quart), stir in oil, salt the remaining 1 TBSP of sugar, and yeast mixture. Sprinkle in 3 cups of the flour, 1 cup at a time, stirring until flour is evenly moistened. Add 4th cup of flour and with wooden spoon or heavy-duty mixture, beat until dough is smooth and elastic (about 5 minutes). Mix in 5th cup of flour to make dough stiff enough to pull up on wooden spoon.

Measure out 6th cup of flour and sprinkle 3/4 cup onto board; turn dough out onto heavily floured area. Sprinkle dough lightly with some of remaining flour and begin to knead.

To Knead, reach over the ball of dough and grasp the edge farthest from you. Pull it toward you in a rolling motion (but not enough to tear the surface) and fold dough almost in half. Then, with the heel of your palm, gently roll the ball away from you to lightly seal fold. When fold line is returned to the top center of dough, rotate dough a quarter turn and continue this folding-rolling motion, making a quarter turn each time.

Work quickly, adding remaining flour as needed; dough grows sticky if allowed to stand, if tears occur on the surface, try to fold them in rather than add more flour to cover them. If dough sticks to board, lift dough scrape board clean, re flour, and continue. Five minutes of kneading may be long enough, but the longer you spend at it (as long as20 to 30 mins)the light the loaf will be. When dough is nonsticky, smooth and satiny, kneading is finished.

Put dough in greased bowl, turn dough over to grease top. Cover bowl loosely with clear plastic wrap or a damp cloth. Let rise in a warm place (80 degree) until doubled (45 mins to 1 1/2 hours). Test by pushing 2 fingers into dough - if indentations remain dough is ready to shape.


After dough has risen, punch it down with your fist to release air bubbles, then turn dough out onto a lightly floured board. Knead dough briefly and shape into a smooth oval.

With sharp knife, divide dough into half for 2 loaves. Form each half into a loaf by gently pulling top surface toward underside to make top smooth. Turn each loaf over and pinch a seam down center; then turn ends under and pinch to seal.

Put shaped loaves, seam down , in greased 9 x 5 loaf pans. Cover; let rise in a warm place until almost doubled (about 45 mins). Loaves should come just above top of pans.

Bake in a 375 degree oven(350 for glass pans) for 35 to 45 mins or until loaves are nicely browned and sound hollow when tapped. Remove from oven. Let loaves cool in pans on a wire rack for 10 mins, then turn loaves out onto rack to cool completely. Makes 2 Loaves.