Home-made White Bread

For those of us with kids, sandwiches seem to be an every day meal. Not that bread from the store is so expensive, but for what you get I think that home-made bread is worth it. It's hearty, tasty, and gives you the satisfaction of knowing exactly what went into it. No preservatives, no nothing.

This recipe is a family favourite, and when I say that I mean it's a family favourite for generations. As far as I know, it's from my Grammie. I remember watching her make bread every summer and finding it fascinating. My mother and oldest brother really took it on too. At least once a month someone was making it fresh in our house. As for me, I make it at least once a week, because when you're feeding two toddlers and two adults, you go through a LOT of bread. You wouldn't believe how much better even a jam sandwich tastes on thick slabs of white bread.

I should also mention I don't have a fancy (or even not fancy) stand mixer. I use a big bowl, a wooden spoon and my bare hands. Now, my mother has said more than once she couldn't live without her stand mixer, and I totally get that. As for me, I don't have one, and I don't know how I'd live with it. There's something about doing it all with your bare hands that makes you appreciate the food even more.

So, here's the recipe:

3 tablespoons of sugar
1 1/3 tablespoons salt
1/2 cup butter of margarine

Set these ingredients in your largest mixing bowl and scald with 4 cups of boiling water. Allow this mixture to cool to lukewarm. To help the process along (if you're short on time like me) stir constantly with a wooden spoon.

When you can tell it's cooling enough, take another smaller bowl and combine

2 tablespoons of quick-rise yeast
2 teaspoons of sugar
1 cup of lukewarm water

Let this mixture stand for 10 minutes. It will get nice and frothy. After 10 minutes, add to large mixture and stir in for a few seconds. Now's the time to add your flour. My recipe says it will take 11 cups of flour, but I often find it will take 12. I usually start with the 11 and keep a full cup set aside to add as needed (or should I say kneaded? Hah, Mom humour). Because I'm mixing it by hand, I try to add the flour a few cups at a time, stirring until it's completely mixed it, then proceed adding more. At some point, your bowl may not be big enough for all that flour, so turn it out onto a floured surface (I just use my counter) and let the rest of your flour mix in while you knead it. For those of you who wear rings, I'd recommend (if you're comfortable with it), that you take off any rings with gems or diamonds on them as they will catch in the dough and leave your ring looking like a mess. I leave on my wedding band and take off my engagement ring. As a side note, this always reminds me doubly of my Grammie, because it was her engagement ring. My parents gave it to my husband so he could propose and I'm so happy to wear it as a constant reminder of how loved I am by those present and gone.

You'll want to knead your dough until it's smooth and elastic. Make sure to add enough flour to keep it from being sticky but not tough. That will make it nice and soft. I try to add any extra flour in handful and knead it in gradually rather than adding whole cups of flour after the first 11 cups.

Next, put your big ball of dough into a large bowl (I wash my bowl and plop it back in there) and let it rise to double, covered with a clean, dry towel. In my bowl this part looks pretty comical as it inevitably rises over the edge and mushrooms out. This doesn't change the taste of the bread, so don't worry if you're in the same situation.

Here's the fun part. My Mum always calls this part one of her favourite forms of stress relief. Punch down that big ball of dough. I mean it. Not just once, but as many times as you need to so you can get those air bubble outs. After punching it down a few times I usually turn it out onto a clean surface and continue to pound it until it's flat. After that's done, cut it into four equal pieces and knead it a little while you form it into the shape of a loaf. Plop it into a lightly greased bread pan. Let all four loaves sit in the pans and rise to double again. Once they're all ready, pop them into a 375 degree oven for 35-40 minutes. After they're baked take them right out of the pans and let them cool on wire racks.

If you like your bread to stay soft, I suggest bagging them while they're still warm. They freeze very well, so stuff them into cleaned out bread bags (I like the wonderplus ones because they're roomy enough for these bigger loaves) and pop a few in the freezer if you like. If you want to have a piece while it's hot and fresh, be aware that it will be hard to cut because the inside is so light and fluffy when it's warm. I also recommend you don't toast this bread. Not that it doesn't taste amazing, but I promise you it's a million times better heated up for about 20 seconds in the microwave.

Enjoy your baking!