Mama's Old-Fashioned White Bread (Paula Deen cookbook)

By grammadot

Ingredients

• Starter
• 1 pkg active dry yeast
• 1/2 c instant mashed potatoe flakes
• 1/2 c sugar
• 2 tsp salt
• Bread
• 1 c starter
• 6 c bread flour, plus more as needed
• 1/2 c oil (corn or canola), plus more for brushing
• 1/2 c sugar
• 1 tbs salt

Preparation

Step 1

Starter
1. To make the starter, in a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in 2 1/2 c water. Add the potatoe flakes, suga, and salt and stir to combine. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and leave the starter out at room temperature for 24 hours.
See note*
Bread
1. Transfer 1 c starter to a separate large bowl, cover loosly, and leave it out at room temp for 12 hours more. Refrigerate the rest of the starter, covered and feed it every 3 to 5 days. (see note*)
2. To make the bread, lightly grease another large bowl. Add 1 1/2 c water to the room temp starter and stir to combine. Add the flour, oil, sugar and salt. Knead once or twice in the bowl, then turn out onto lightly floured surface and knead until a stiff dough forms (add more flour by the quarter cupful as needed)
Place the dough in the greased bowl, brush top with oil, and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Leave out at room temp for 6 to 8 hours, until it has tripled in size.
3. Lightly grease three 9 by 5" loaf pans. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 3 equal pieces. Knead each piece once or twice, form into a loaf, and place in the prepared pan. Brush the tops of the loaves with oil and loosely cover with plastic wrap. Leave out a toom temp for 6 to 8 hours, until the dough has again tripled in size. The dough will be puffed over the tops of the pans.
4. Preheat the oven to 350. Bake the loaves for 25 to 30 minutes, until the tops are an even golden brown, with no light spots. Allow the loaves to cool in the pans for 20 to 30 minutes, then gently turn them out. ONce the bread has cooled completly, cut into thick slices and serve.
*Note: To feed the starter: Every 5 days: Pour off 1 c and use to make bread or discard if not baking that day. Combine 1 c water with 3/4 c sugar and 3 tbs potatoe flakes and stir into the starter. The starter will keep for years if you feed it regularly and keep it refrigerated.