Amish White Bread

I have been in dire need of making bread for over a week now. Why not just go to the store and buy some you ask? I have made a bargain with my husband that prevents me from doing so. I promised my hubby that if he bought me a Bosch mixer for Christmas that I would make our bread instead of buying it. Our family goes through 2 food items super fast. Milk and bread. We consume about 8-9 gallons of milk per week and usually eat about 5 loaves a bread every week and a half. That's what happens when you have 5 kids and a milk loving husband. By those numbers it's easy to see how I can get behind. I usually prefer to make whole wheat bread, but I ordered a bunch of Tupperware stuff to organize my cupboards and I don't want to grind anymore wheat until it gets here. I decided to try this white bread recipe in the meantime and was pleasantly surprised. It's soft and tastes really good. I added my notes to the recipe, because I think I could have scaled back a little on the flour, but all in all, it was a success. I'll definitely make it again.







Amish White Bread

Ingredients:
2 cups warm water (110 degrees F)
2/3 cup white sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
5 1/2 - 6 cups bread flour


In a mixing bowl, dissolve the sugar in warm water, and then stir in yeast. Allow to proof until yeast resembles a creamy foam.

Mix salt and oil into the yeast. Mix in flour one cup at a time. (When I made this I doubled the recipe. We have a lot of toast eaters here. I only needed about 11 1/4 cups flour. So, only add a little at a time and only add enough until the dough is no longer sticky.)

Knead in mixer for 10 minutes until smooth. (I'm a cheater, I hate getting my hands dirty. I bought a machine to make bread, it can cover all the steps.)

Place in a well oiled bowl, and turn dough to coat. Cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. (To shorten the rising time, preheat the oven to 175 degrees and after about 15 minutes, turn it off. Place the covered dough inside and set the timer for about 30 minutes.)

Punch dough down. Knead for a few minutes, and divide in half. Shape into loaves, and place into two well oiled 9x5 inch loaf pans. Allow to rise for 30 minutes, or until dough has risen 1 inch above pans. (Again, let it rise for 30 minutes in your toasty oven, it's a never fail trick)
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.