White Bread Recipe

It has been about 4-6 weeks since we gave up fast food. I should have wrote down the exact date, but, of course, didn't. I know it was late February, early March - ish. lol Anyway, we have been trying out a lot of new recipes to try to make up for the lack of fatty greasy flavor we were used to. 

Another big part of urban farming and self sustainability is providing and making your own food. Our garden is well on its way for this season and we are getting chicken eggs (almost) daily. A big thing for us has been trying to cook at home as much as possible. Lucky for me, I married a great cook. And he enjoys it! Now, I'm not too shabby in the kitchen either, but it is nice to have a little help in the food department.

Unfortunately for me, my mother in law is a great cook. You know, fried chicken, chicken and noodles, mashed potatoes, (all the food that make up the phrase "The quickest way to a mans heart is through his stomach"), and of course homemade, from scratch bread and rolls. We are lucky enough to get those delicious little rolls every holiday. But, for the long stretches in between, Nick always begs me to make bread. In the passed year I have made loaf upon loaf of mediocre bread. They are never horrible, but not MIL status.

Of course, the day after Easter, Nick starts asking about bread. Even if we don't celebrate with them, each holiday brings up the bread. I should have known. So, in the midst of my super busy day (grocery store run, clean the house, clothes shopping-M's having problems with "lines" and "hard pants" lol, and trying to finish the living room-we're painting) I was faced with food requests. Not only was Nick asking for yummy white bread, a recipe I have yet to master, but M was begging for banana chips. So, once we finally got everyone ready and to the store and back it was 3:30. Ugh. Nick gets home at 5:30. The race was on.

So, I found a recipe that was semi quick and easy. And, much to my surprise, DELICIOUS! Mwahahahahhaha, finally MIL status. lol Sorry, it's been a long time coming. With that taken care of, here is the recipe.

• 

Our half eaten loaf. Soooo good!

• 6-7 cups all purpose or bread flour (I used unbleached all purpose flour)
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp salt
• 2 tbsp shortening
• 2 packages of regular or quick active dry yeast ( equal to 4 1/2 tsp)
• 2 1/4 cups VERY warm water (aprox 120-130 degrees, or as hot as your tap will get)
• 2 tbsp melted stick butter

1. In a big bowl, mix 3 1/2 cups flour, the sugar, salt, yeast, and shortening. The shortening will basically just clump up.
2. Add the warm water and beat with electric mixer on low for 1 min., then medium for 1 min.  The dough will probably climb up your beaters, just shake it off.
3. Stir in more flour, 1 cup at a time, until you have a manageable dough.
4. Flour a work surface and knead for 10 min or until dough is smooth and springy. (This usually does take about 10 min., go slow, don't wear yourself out, it will get there!)
5. Place the dough in a bowl that has been greased with shortening and turn it on every side to grease the dough. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 40-60 minutes. (It's done when an indentation stays in the dough)
6. Gently punch down to deflate, divide into halves. On a floured work surface roll out the dough in  a rectangle, aprox 18''-9''. On the short side, the 9'' side, tightly roll the dough up, pressing on the turns to seal it. Once it is all the way rolled, pinch the end of the roll to seal. Next, with the sides of your hands, flatten the ends and pinch to seal, then fold the ends under the loaf and pinch to seal again. Repeat for second loaf.
7. Grease two loaf pans with shortening. Place formed loaves in each pan and brush lightly with butter. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let sit for another 30-60 minutes, or until doubled in size.
8. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Make sure your racks are in the middle of the oven so the tops of the loaves won't touch the oven. Bake for 25-35 minutes. They will be done when they are golden brown and sound hallow when you tap them.
9. Once out of the oven, remove from the pans and place on a wire rack (or counter top) and brush with butter again. Let cool.

This recipe has a very light crust with a slight buttery flavor. The bread is beautifully soft and dense, not airy and holy like store bought. And BTW, its cheaper to make your own bread (even with higher quality ingredients) than it is to buy it in the store. Plus, you can't beat 6 ingredients vs. 20+ of commercial breads. Not to mention you can pronounce all of them and know good and well what they are!

*TIPS*

1. A sunny window or on top of the pre heating oven is a great place for bread to rise
2. For maximum softness put bread in gallon size freezer bags right BEFORE it is completely cooled, the small amount of heat helps add a little moisture in the bag, creating an even softer bread with even softer crust.
3. If you have never made bread before, this is a fairly simple, no fail recipe. Look up pictures or videos of dough consistency so you know what to watch for.
4. You can make this recipe whole wheat by substituting half of the flour with whole wheat flour. (I have yet to try this recipe in whole wheat)
5. Use a sharp serrated knife to cut the bread. Replace the butt back onto the loaf after you cut off slices to help keep the cut end soft.