Homemade Bread

I baked bread yesterday - it was easier than I thought and very tasty!
To start with the basics, I made regular white bread. I find myself going back to the "Fannie Farmer Cookbook" a lot, it is full of old-fashioned traditional recipes, and I love it. The house smells really good too!



White Bread

2 Tbsp butter
2-1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp sugar
1 cup hot milk (of course I used fresh goats milk!)
1 cup hot water
1 package dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
6 cups white flour


Mix the butter, salt, and sugar in a large bowl, add the hot milk and hot water (one cup), and let cool to lukewarm.

In a small bowl or cup mix the yeast with 1/4 cup 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 blended. Add 2 more cups of flour, mix, and turn out onto a lightly floured board. Knead for a minute or two and then let rest for 10 minutes.

Adding just enough of the remaining flour so that the dough is not sticky, resume kneading until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Put the dough into a large, greased bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm spot until double in bulk. Punch down and shape into two loaves. Place in greased loaf pans, cover, and let double in bulk again.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 degrees, and bake for 30 minutes more. Remove from pans and cool on racks.


All you need now is soft butter and maybe some jam, homemade jam!