Homemade White Bread

My husband has been hinting, well it was more like coming right out and saying he misses having my homemade bread. When our daughter got married over a year ago, it was one of those things I didn't have time for and just never got back into making it.
I have always made wheat bread, which is my favorite, but decided I would also like to have a basic, easy to make, white bread recipe.
I found this one in my favorite Amish cookbook, Cooking with Love. It seemed easy enough. You don't even have to proof the yeast. I added potato flakes to the recipe because I thought it might produce a softer bread.

Homemade White Bread

1/2 cup white sugar 2 Tbsp. bread flour 2 tsp. salt 3/4 cup boiling water 1/2 cup potato flakes opt. 1/2 cup vegetable/canola oil 1 3/4 cup warm water 1 1/2 Tbsp. yeast 6-7 cups bread flour Instructions: Mix the first four ingredients; then add the next four ingredients in the order given. Add flour one cup at a time until dough pulls away from bowl. Remove from bowl and knead on a floured surface a few minutes. Let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Punch down and rise again for about 45 minutes. Form into 3 loaves and rise until doubled. Bake at 350 for 22-25 minutes. printablerecipe   Pan toast is the best! If you have never had toast, made in a pan, you have to try it. Just butter both sides of your bread and toast both sides in a pan.  Mmmm....it's so good.  We ate this a lot growing up. Linking to; Country Cook; Foodie Friday

Sweet Cornbread Muffins

You have to have cornbread to go with Ham and Bean Soup or even Chili and I really like the sweeter versions better than the traditional cornbread you eat in the south. I didn't even like cornbread until I had these. These are pretty sweet and I usually cut back a little on the sugar and sometimes I add a little bit of maple flavoring too.
If you don't want to take the time to make the muffins just pour it into a 9 x 13 pan.


Sweet Cornbread Muffins

1 cup yellow cornmeal 2 cups flour 1 Tbsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 1 1/2 cup sugar ( I like to use half white / half brown) Note: These are plenty sweet. You can reduce the amount of sugar if you like. 4 eggs, separated 1 cup milk 3/4 cup melted butter 1 tsp vanilla Directions: Combine first 5 ingredients. Beat together egg yolks, milk, butter and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients. Beat egg whites until stiff. Fold into rest of ingredients. Pour into greased 9 x 13" pan or muffin pans. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.  Bake muffins approx 20 minutes.

printablerecipe

Homemade Bread

Nothing beats the smell of freshly baked bread, plus it's so much tastier and nutritious than store bought bread.

I have tried so many recipes for homemade bread over the years but never found one recipe that I was satisfied with until I found this one.
Many of the recipes would turn out great one time, only to completely flop the next. Maybe it's just luck but this recipe has turned out well every time I've made it. This is now my go to recipe when I want to bake bread.

Homemade Bread

Ingredients:

 1/4 cup warm water

2 Tbsp dry yeast

1 1/2 Tbsp bread flour

2 tsp white sugar

1 cup quick oats

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 1/4 cups warm water

2 tsp salt

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil

2 Tbsp vital wheat gluten opt.

5 cups bread flour. I use Thesco or Sapphire Flour

Directions:

 1. In a mixing bowl, I use my Kitchen Aid Mixer, stir together the first four ingredients. Let grow for about 5 minutes. It should start bubbling almost immediately.

2. Add oats, wheat flour, warm water, salt, brown sugar, oil and wheat gluten to the first part in the mixing bowl. With a dough hook, mix on low speed for 1-2 minutes. Increase speed slightly, and begin to add the bread flour 1/2 to 1 cup at a time until dough pulls away from sides of the bowl. Note: Humidity can determine how much flour you will need. It is normal for the dough to be a little sticky.

3. Place dough in a greased bowl and turn to coat the surface. Cover with a cloth. Let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size approx.1 hour.

I turn my oven on it's lowest setting while I'm mixing my bread then turn it off so the oven is just slightly warm.

4. Divide dough into 3 pieces. Shape loaves, and place in greased 8 1/2 inch x 4 1/2 inch bread pans. Prick with fork to help get rid of air bubbles. Let rise until dough is 1 inch above rim of pans, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

5. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or tops are golden brown. Let cool in pans for 8 minutes and turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.

I like to brush the tops with melted butter after removing from pans for a soft shiny crust. Then I cover with a towel while cooling. If you like a chewier crust skip this part.

printablerecipe

"give us this day our daily bread"