Traditional White Bread

Baking bread in your kitchen is probably one of THE best aromas anyone can encounter.  Maybe you associate it with a special dinner or maybe mom made it every week or just for the holidays.  This time both my kids will be home and the young men down the street will be raking my leaves for me so I promised a nice dinner for them.

We don’t use a bread machine when we bake bread.  In this case since the recipe makes quite a few loaves it’s impossible to even use your electric mixer due to the volume of flour (5 pounds).  Always use BREAD FLOUR as it supposed to have more protein in it for a better texture for the bread.  [Finecooking.com] 

One of my favorite movies, “It’s a Wonderful Life”, has a scene in it where Mary Bailey is giving the Martini family a house warming gift and she says:

“Bread – that this house may never know hunger.
Salt – that life may always have flavor.
Wine – that joy and prosperity may reign forever.”

Since the recipe makes a lot of loaves, you too may want to share.  My mother and father-in-law make this when ever there’s a croUD

TRADITIONAL BREAD

Makes 6 – 1 pound loaves           350* for 15 minutes; 300* till done (45 min)

INGREDIENTS

• 5 LBS Bread Flour
• 5 cups of water
• ½ cup melted margarine/butter
• 5 Tablespoons (heaping) sugar
• 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
• 2 yeast packets, fast acting

DIRECTIONS

Melt margarine/butter in 2 cups of water in microwave.  Add 1 cup of cool water.

Add the yeast, and 5 Tablespoons of sugar to 2 cups of 110-115* water. Whisk to dissolve the sugar and yeast.  Proof for 5 minutes.

In a very large bowl, add the flour and salt.  Make a well in the flour.  Add the proofed yeast mixture (clean out the bowl) to the flour.  Mix it a little then add the margarine/butter water.  Mix well till it comes away from the sides of the bowl.

Turn it out onto a floured surface.  Knead for 15 minutes.  (stretch it to get air out)

Clean the large bowl and using a little vegetable oil, coat the bowl.  Turn the kneaded dough into the bowl with oiled side up.  Allow it to raise for 1 hour covered with a towel.  Punch down.

Weigh the dough and divide by 6 giving you the needed weight for each 1 pound pan.  The pans should be warm.  Measuring 1/6th of the dough, kneed it till all be air is out.  Place into each bread pan.  Cover and allow it to raise for one hour in a warm place.

Preheat oven to 350*.

Bake for 15 minutes at 350*, then turn it down to 300 and bake for 45 minutes.  Remove bread from pan and place back into the oven racks (if needed) for 5 minutes.

Allow to cool – if you can.  Use a serrated bread knife to slice.  Great for toast.