Love me some BREAD

I have finally perfected a great recipe for bread. I am not going to lie or pretend that I'm all for seeded bread or whole wheat, I just have to have white bread. It's my guilty pleasure. I've tried to eat the healthier, hardier breads but in the end that's the bread I crave! Of course that doesn't mean that you can't change the type of flour or add seeds to this bread to tailor it to your own special palette and cravings. With a little tweaking and experimenting you'll find the right balance, this is a great base recipe that's simple and a great way to get started on getting comfortable with baking your own bread. Bread has gotten so expensive lately that I've just started making it at home. My husband, who's not all that big on bread to begin with, just devours it. Bread making doesn't take much in terms of work, but it does need time to proof and bake so you've got to pick a day when you're not planning on leaving the house for a window of about 3 hours. On the bright side you can double or even triple the recipe and make 4 or 6 loaves and throw them in the freezer. They freeze fantastically and taste the same as the day you baked them. I love bread and this bread smells and tastes amazing. In my house 2 loaves usually don't last longer than a few days between my husband and kids (but who am I kidding I'm probably the biggest culprit for it not lasting longer than a few days)!

This Basic Bread Recipe is super easy and you can either do it with the dough hook from your mixer or even by hand. I do it by hand because I find it's the easiest - and less dishes to wash afterwards!!

Bread Recipe

(this recipe yields 2 loaves of bread - simply double or triple the recipe for more)

4 1/2 tsp. of Traditional Active Dry Yeast

(I prefer yeast in envelopes that are sealed in individual little packs for single use they tend to be more effective, your bread will rise better and be softer)

2 tsp. sugar

2 cups warm water

1/4 cup vegetable or olive oil

4 1/2 cups white flour

1 tsp salt

Warm the water until it is a little warmer than lukewarm. Pour it into a bowl where you have put the yeast and sugar. Allow it to sit for 5-10 minutes until the yeast becomes bubbly and frothy up top.

In another large bowl (if kneading the dough by hand - otherwise put the following in your mixing bowl with the dough hook attachment) put the flour and salt.

Pour the yeast/water mixture into the flour mixture, add the oil as well and now you're ready to start kneading. This should be enough flour for this mixture sometimes depending on the humidity in your home or the type of flour you may need to add a bit more. The dough if kneading by hand should feel fluffy and it may still be slightly sticky. As long as it doesn't super stick to your hands your dough is done, you also do not want to overwork it either. If you are using your mixture with the dough hook attachment, mix it until the dough no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl.

If you have the "proof" button on your oven then this is the time to use it! If not then that's ok too!!! Pour a little olive oil around the sides of the bowl that you have the dough in (not more than 2-3 tbsp.) so that as the dough rises it will not stick to the sides of the bowl and will be much easier to take out. Put a towel over the bowl and put it in the oven and set a timer for the dough to have it's first rise. Allow it to rise for 40 minutes. If you do not feel comfortable putting it in the oven with a towel then you can always find a warm spot in your home without a draft and place it there to rise.

In the meantime prepare 2 loaf pans (oil and flour them) so that the bread will come right out once baked.

Remove the dough once risen and simply divide it into 2 and place each half in it's respective loaf pan. Now it's time for the second rise. Place the towel over the bread again and allow the bread to rise for another 25 minutes. In the meantime you can now start to preheat your oven to 400F.

Once the dough has risen for the second time and the oven is ready then pop the bread in and bake for 35-40 minutes.

Remove the bread from the oven and take them out of the loaf pans immediately and place them on wire racks to cool. This is important because if they are left in the loaf pans to cool you'll get soggy bread.

Enjoy!! You can eat it as soon as you take it out of the oven (personally that's my favorite) slather it with butter, jam, peanut butter or just eat it like that - either way it's delicious and your house will smell fantastic! Let me know how it goes!!