Basic White Bread

(from Lucianolinda’s recipe box)

Source: Better Homes and Gardens

Categories: Breads- Rolls- Biscuits- Corn bread

Ingredients

  • 2 cups milk
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 8 tsp. salt
  • 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) margarine
  • 6 cups warm water (105-115 degrees.)
  • 4 pkgs. active dry yeast
  • 24 cups (6 lbs.) unsifted flour (about)

Directions

  1. Heat milk in small saucepan until rim of bubbles forms around edge of pan. Remove from heat; stir in sugar, salt and margarine. Cool to lukewarm.

  2. Pour warm water into large warm bowl. Sprinkle in yeast; stir until dissolved.

  3. Add lukewarm milk mixture and 12 cups flour. Beat hard with large spoon until smooth. Make sure flour is 70 degrees, not any cooler.

  4. Add enough additional flour to make a stiff dough. Turn out onto floured board; knead with the heels of your own well=-scrubbed hands until smooth and elastic. This will take about 10 to 20 minutes. You can rest your arms after 5 minutes of active kneading if you wish. Turn and rotate dough as you knead firmly.

  5. Place dough in large greased bowl, turning dough to grease top. Cover; le rise in warm place, free from draft, until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. Poke two fingers into dough. If their impressions remain, dough has risen enough.

  6. Punch down dough with your fist. Cover; let rest 15 minutes.

  7. Divide dough into 6 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a 14 × 9-inch rectangle with a rolling pin. Roll up tightly from 9-inch side. Pinch seam side of dough to seal. Press down on ends of dough and turn under to form loaf.

  8. Place dough, rounded side up, in greased loaf pans. Cover; let as many as will fit in the oven at once rise in a warm place, free from draft, until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

  9. Cover remaining loaves and put in cooler place, free from draft, until doubled in bulk, about 1` 1/2 hours.

  10. About 15 minute before rising time is up, preheat oven to 400 degrees.

  11. Bake risen loaves about 30 minutes or until done. To test for doneness, rap knuckle on side of loaf. If it sounds hollow, bread is done.

  12. Remove bread from pans immediately and let cool on wire racks,

  13. makes 6 loaves

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