Bread

I have a bread supplier. Her name is Kellee. However, I don't see Kellee often enough to keep my freezer full. We go through a lot of bread around here and good bread can get pretty expensive. I like good bread, so I've decided to begin making my own. If only I had known it would be this easy I would have started doing this sooner. It's super easy!

Besides flour here are the main indgredients to this sandwich bread-yeast, milk, butter, sugar, and salt. Now look at the label on the bread that you just bought from the store. How many ingredients are in there? Do you even know what everything is? This is why I love this bread. I know everything I am putting into this bread.

Mix all of that bread together until you get a pretty looking dough like this.

Cover your bowl and let the dough rise. I love this part. You just fix it and forget about it. . . for a few hours. I love seeing the plastic wrap bubble up. It makes me feel like I did something right. I usually make to loaves of bread at a time. That's why you're seeing two different bowls.

Here's the dough doubled in size.

Take the dough out of the bowl and shape it into a loaf. Then place it into a loaf pan. Pretty simple, right? Cover the loaf pan and let the dough rise until it's about an inch above the top of the pan. Run to the grocery store or the post office while it's rising. You've got time.

Once the dough has risen you can bake the bread in your oven. It should come out with a golden brown crust. 

Let your bread cool on a wire rack. Have you ever seen such beautiful bread?

Slice it up. It's perfect for sandwiches or just eating. The inside is soft and the outside has a beautiful crust the even my kids like.

We made grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch and they were fantastic.

Sandwich Bread

3 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour (+ 2 Tablespoons for high altitude)
1/2 cup milk **
1/2 to 2/3 cup hot water, enough to make a soft, smooth dough**
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) melted butter, margarine or vegetable oil
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 packet active dry yeast dissolved in 3 tablespoon warm water

**Mix the cold-from-the-refrigerator milk with 1/2 cup of the hot-from-the-tap water to make a lukewarm combination.

Mixing: In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients and stir till the dough starts to leave the sides of the bowl. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased surface, oil your hands, and knead it for 6 to 8 minutes, or until it begins to become smooth and supple. (You may also knead this dough in an electric mixer or food processor, or in a bread machine set to the dough or manual cycle). Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl, cover the bowl, and allow the dough to rise till puffy though not necessarily doubled in bulk, about 1 to 2 hours, depending on the warmth of your kitchen.

Shaping: Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled work surface, and shape it into an 8" log. Place the log in a lightly greased 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" loaf pan, cover the pan loosely with lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow the bread to rise for about 60 minutes, until it’s domed about 1" above the edge of the pan. A finger pressed into the dough should leave a mark that rebounds slowly.

Baking: Bake the bread in a preheated 350°F oven for 30 to 35 minutes, until it’s light golden brown. Test it for doneness by removing it from the pan and thumping it on the bottom (it should sound hollow), or by measuring its interior temperature with an instant-read thermometer (it should register 190°F at the center of the loaf). Remove the bread from the oven, and cool it on a wire rack before slicing. Store the bread in a plastic bag at room temperature. Yield: 1 loaf.

Recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour.