White Bread - Final Version

I finally made white bread which I think is perfect. I took two of the previous white bread recipes, combined them, and slightly altered the result. This bread is soft and chewy. It isn't too sweet like the bread I posted last week. It tastes great warm and cool. I will have to make dinner rolls out of this recipe at some point!

The method for making this bread is exactly the same as the last recipe. You mix all the ingredients together, let it rise for a total time of nearly 3 hours, and bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Baking bread is actually very simple. And having fresh bread is a great thing!

White Bread (Printer-friendly PDF version)

1 packet dry active yeast

1/4 C warm water + 1/4 t sugar

1 C milk, scalded

1 C water, warm

2 T butter

1 t salt

2 T sugar

6 C sifted flour (perhaps a bit more)

Proof the yeast in the 1/4 C warm water (add the 1/4 t sugar to feed the yeast).

Scald the milk. Place the scalded milk into a large bowl with the warm water, sugar, salt, and butter.

Mix in two cups of the flour. Add the yeast and stir. Slowly mix in the remaining 4 cups of flour. Add the flour until the dough isn't very sticky. I added just a bit too much flour, but it turned out fine.

Knead the dough until smooth. My dough was too non-sticky to do the method I usually use, so I just kneaded normally.

Roll the smooth dough in a bit of flour and place in a floured bowl.

Cover with a towel. Place in the oven (oven OFF) with a pan of hot water. Let rise for an hour.

Punch down the dough. (The dough was sticking to the bowl a bit, but I didn't add oil or anything. The sticking won't ruin anything.)

Return the dough to the bowl (reflour the bowl!), and return it to the oven. You might want to refresh the hot water in the pan to create more steam.

Remove the dough from the bowl and cut into two pieces. Let rest for 10 minutes.

Form into a loaf shape and place in lightly greased bread pans. Cover and let rise until doubled (at least 30 minutes).

Uncover and brush the top of the dough with melted butter. Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes.

Let cool for at least 15 minutes before slicing.

Enjoy!