Beginners Bread Recipe

How to make it

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• Sift then lightly spoon flour into measuring cups and level with a knife. Omitting this step will make the bread dense and tough. You can always add in more flour later but you can’t un-ring a bell. In large bowl, combine 2 cups flour, sugar, undissolved yeast, and salt. Mix well with a whisk or sift the ingredients together. I whisk even after I sift.
• The important thing is to get the yeast and salt well distributed into the dry ingredients. Salt kills yeast! Salt is used in the recipe as a control mechanism to regulate the yeast action. If the liquid ingredients were added to the dry ingredients with the salt and yeast laying next to each other, in bulk, the rising power of the yeast would be dramatically curtailed and you will end up with something on the order of unleavened bread. No salt in the recipe will allow the yeast to be too active with resultant large holes in the bread instead of a nice even texture of small holes.
• Heat water, milk, and butter until very warm (120° to 130°F); stir into flour mixture. Beat 2 minutes at medium speed of electric mixer, scraping bowl occasionally. Stir in 1 cup flour; beat at high speed for 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Stir in enough remaining flour to make soft dough.
• Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes OR until a golf ball sized piece of dough can be stretched away from the main body without snapping off. This is the indication of gluten forming. The amount of flour used is variable depending on conditions. Most importantly, sift and measure the flour. Too much flour will make the bread dense and tough. On this particular occasion I had to use more than 6 cups flour. Use just enough flour on your work surface and on your hands to make the dough feel tacky but not sticky. When the dough starts feeling sticky again, go back for a little more flour.
• Cover; let rest 10 minutes.
• Divide dough in half. Roll each half to 12 x 7-inch rectangle. Beginning at short end of each rectangle, roll up tightly as for jelly roll. Pinch seams and ends to seal. Place, seam sides down, in greased 8-1/2 x 4-1/2 inch loaf pans. Cover; let rise in warm, draft free place until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.
• Bake at 400°F for 25 to 30 minutes or until done. Remove from pans; cool on wire rack.