In addition to Cookie Friday, I also had some homemade bread rising when the kids came home from school.  I use the same recipe that my mom always did when I was growing up.  Sometimes I will use whole wheat flower instead of white, but it’s always the same basic recipe.  I make the dough in my bread machine, on the dough cycle, because it makes the process SO much easier.  Once the dough is ready I put it into bread pans to rise again.  I don’t like the way my bread machine cooks the bread, so that’s why I just use the dough cycle.

 

On Friday, I tried pulling up the recipe on my blog and I couldn’t track it down!  I tried several different key words and nothing seemed to pop up for me.  It’s been a while since I’ve posted this recipe, so I thought it might just be buried in blogland somewhere.  This recipe is such a staple in our house, that it’s certainly worth a repost.

 

Ingredients:

1 package yeast

1/4 cup warm water

2 cups scalded milk

1 Tbsp shortening

6 cups flour

(white, whole wheat, or a combination)

2 Tbsp sugar

2tsp salt

 

Combine yeast and warm water.  Let it rest for about 10 minutes.  Scald the milk and add the shortening so that it melts.  Put the milk mixture into the bread machine first. Add the rest of the dry ingredients on top of the milk.  Then, pour the yeast mixture on the very top.  Set your bread machine to the dough cycle and wait for it to beep at you!  Once it has risen in the machine, form into loaves and let rise again until it has doubled in size.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. 

 

Tips:

DON’T BE AFRAID OF YEAST!

Yeast is very easy to work with and shouldn’t be intimidating. When I dissolve the yeast in the warm water, I make sure the water feels slightly warmer than bathtub water.  If it is super hot, it will kill the yeast.  If you use cold water, it won’t activate.  I also make sure the milk is about that same temperature.  Finally, when I let the bread rise in the pans, I usually turn on my oven to preheat and just set the pans on the stove.  It gives the pans just enough warmth to help them rise.

 

Happy baking!