Making: Bread

    So today I am going to make some homemade white bread.  Never done this before but I figure, it can’t be that hard.  If Wifey (note: Wifey is not my wife she is my friends wife who we all affedtionately call wifey) can make bread, I’m pretty sure I can do it too.  To be more specific, I am making Neil’s Harbour White Bread.  I’m not really suer what that means, however that is what I am going to make.  I can’t realy decide whether I should put the recipe on here or not but think I will just so if wifey is reading this, she will hopefully get it figured out. 

Ingredients:

 3 cups lukewarm water

½ cup plus 1 teaspoon white sugar

2 Tablespoons yeast granules (or 2 packets), we use Red Star Yeast

1 Heaping Tablespoon salt

½ cup salad oil, melted butter, or melted shortening

11 cups all purpose flour

Directions:

In a large, warmed bowl, pour:  1 cup lukewarm water

In the water dissolve: 1 teaspoon white sugar

Over the water sprinkle: 2 Tablespoons yeast granules (or 2 packets), we use Red Star Yeast

Let stand 10 minutes, then stir until yeast is completely dissolved. Then stir in: 2 cups lukewarm         water, 1/2 cup white sugar, 1 heaping Tablespoon salt, 1/2 cup salad oil, melted butter, or melted shortening. Beat, then stir in 1 cup at a time: about 9 cups all purpose bread flour. (If you’re using a mixer, switch from paddle to bread hook when dough begins to get sticky on paddle. If you are mixing by hand, know that mixing in all that flour will be a workout, but it’s worth it!! ) 

 To knead by hand: Scrape the dough onto a well floured surface, sprinkle it with flour and knead it. Gather the dough together in your hands and push it away from you with your palms. Fold it in half towards you, then turn ¼ turn and repeat pushing, folding, and turning, sprinkling flour on the dough to keep it from sticking, this may take up to a cupful more. Keep kneading for several minutes, until the dough becomes smooth and elastic.

 To knead by machine: Leave in mixer bowl with dough hook, then set mixer on low, and let it knead for 5 minutes (check often to make sure that the dough isn’t “crawling” out of the bowl. If it crawls up, just turn off the machine and push it back down, then continue kneading.

 After kneading, put the dough in a large oiled bowl, and flip to coat both sides with oil. Loosely cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and place in a warm place (near a woodstove or in an oven that has been preheated for 30 seconds then turned off. IMPORTANT!!! Always preheat the oven, turn off, and then put the dough in the oven. I’ve had it happen too often that I forget to turn off the oven and then it ruins the dough!! ) Let it rise for 1 to 2 hours, or until the dough has doubled. Punch the dough down to remove air bubbles, then divide in 3 parts. Shape each into a loaf and place into a greased loaf pan. Cover the loaves with a dish towel and put in a warm place again to rise the second time. The loaves should double, about 1 hour. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes. When bread is golden brown on top and bottom and bread sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom, it’s done!!! Remove from pans to a rack and allow to cool, IF YOU AND YOUR FAMILY CAN KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF IT!!!! There is no better comfort food than hot bread with butter or Strawberry Jam on it!!!! Enjoy!!! Also try the recipes below.

-Christa D. Bauman

    So yeah I think I got this under control.  I have to work tonight at ten so I hope I can get it done before then I  don’t know how long this is going to take.  I will get back to with the results.