white bread.

So apparently when I was two years old my mom would make bread with me every weekend. I don't really remember it, but I've seen the pictures and it looks like it was a really good time. Also, so cute? This potentially had an early influence on my love of baking, and recently I've decide to be brave and attempt to reconquer the art of yeast breads.

I started slow, and you can too. This is my recipe for white bread - originally from the Fannie Farmer cookbook with a few extra tips of my own. It's really really delicious, and based on how scary the bread section in this cookbook is, not that hard at all.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons shortening or vegetable oil (I used vegetable oil - shortening kind of grosses me out)
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 cup hot milk
• 1 cup hot water
• 1 package dry yeast (if you buy it in bulk like we do, this equals about 1 tablespoon)
• 1/4 cup warm water (different than hot!)
• 6 cups white flour (or, if you're me/you're in the same kind of conditions as me as far as humidity, altitude, etc, probably more than that)

Steps:

• Mix the shortening (or oil), salt, and sugar in a large bowl
• Add the hot milk and hot water - mix it a little with a spoon - the sugar and salt will dissolve
• Let it cool to about lukewarm - if it's too hot when you add the yeast, the poor little fungi will die and then you'll have unleavened bread which is good for passover but otherwise no.
• Speaking of yeast, mix it with the warm water and let it stand for 5 minutes to dissolve
• Add the dissolved yeast and 3 cups of flour to the first mixture and beat until well blended
• Add 2 more cups of flour, mix, and turn out onto a lightly floured board - okay, but take it from me, if your dough looks super extra sticky, don't turn it out yet. Add some more flour. And flour that board heavily. And your hands. Sticky dough is kind of scary. Before you know it it's all over your hands and you're stuck there forever. Don't worry. Keep the flour at hand and be brave.
• Next, knead for a minute or two and then let sit for 10 minutes. Kneading 101: fold the dough in half towards your body, then push it away from you with the heel of your palm. Pick it up and turn it 90 degrees. Repeat.
• Adding just enough flour that the dough is not sticky (which in my experience has been a pretty significant amount), resume kneading until the dough is smooth and elastic.
• Put the dough in a large, greased bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm spot until double in bulk (this will probably take about 2 hours in a moderately warm kitchen - but you could do it in the fridge if you needed more time and it would take longer. The important part about rising isn't the time, but how much the dough has risen. It will be different depending on the temperature in your house)
• Punch down and shape into two loaves (I pretty much just cut it in half and play with it for a bit so it's kind of resembling loaf shape)
• Place in greased loaf pans, cover, and let double in bulk again (this takes me about an hour)
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• Bake bread for 15 minutes, reduce heat to 375 degrees, and bake for 30 minutes more.
• Remove from pans and cool on racks
• Slice and enjoy!

You can have cheesy bread like that if you add about 1 1/2 cups grated cheddar in with the last of the flour. :)