White Bread
Makes 2 loaves
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups warm milk
¼ c. shortening, melted (just slightly rounded)
3 Tbsp. sugar
2 ½ tsp. salt
About 5 c. flour, divided½ c. warm water
½ tsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. + 1 tsp. yeast
INSTRUCTIONS:
1-Combine yeast and ½ tsp. of sugar in a glass measuring cup. Add ½ cup of hot water and give it a quick stir. Gauge the temperature of the water by running it over the inside of your wrist. It should be hot enough that any hotter would be uncomfortably too hot. Allow to rest and grow for several minutes. When yeast is frothy and rises in the glass it is ready. (If it doesn’t grow or get frothy, something went wrong, throw it out and try again)
2-In the Bosch or KitchenAid mixer, combine milk, melted shortening, 3 Tbsp. sugar, salt and 2c. flour. Mix until smooth using whisk attachment.
3- Add yeast mixture and mix again till smooth.
4-Replace whisk attachment with dough hook.
5-Add about 3 additional cups of flour one cup at a time. You want enough flour to make dough springy but firm to the touch (3 cups give or take).
6-Mix on low speed for a full five minutes.
7-Transfer dough to a greased bowl, cover with a towel or plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size. (About 35-40 min)
8-Pour raised dough onto a countertop that has been greased with cooking spray. Punch down to get bubbles out. Fold flattened dough over onto itself and punch again. Repeat a few more times until all air bubbles are out and dough starts to feel elastic. Divide in half.
9-Shape each half into a loaf and place in a greased loaf pan. Cover with a towel and allow to raise until it begins to peak above the top of the pan.
10-Place in a preheated 360-degree oven and bake for 25-30 minutes.
NOTES:
-This recipe can be used with regular yeast or instant. I like this method of proofing it in warm water beforehand, as described above, because it allows you to test the rise at the beginning of the process instead of waiting 45 minutes to find something went wrong and it didn’t rise.
- If you are using instant yeast, you can still proof it as described or you can choose to skip the proofing step and add it with the flour and then mix with all other ingredients all at once. I still recommend adding the last three cups of flour one at a time to ensure the right consistency.