Basic White Bread

In this recipe, you can replace the 13/4 cups water with potato water. Save the water in which you boil potatoes to use in making white bread. Potato water improves the action of yeast. It also adds a subtle flavor and keeps home-baked bread moist longer.

Serves: 24Hands-on: 30 minutesTotal: 4 hours 30 minutesDifficulty: Medium

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Serves: 24

Ingredients

  • 6 cups all-purpose flour, divided
  • 1 package active dry yeast
  • ¼ cup warm water
  • 2 Tbsp. sugar
  • 1 Tbsp. salt
  • 1¾ cups warm water
  • 2 Tbsp. vegetable shortening

Directions

  • Place about one-third of the flour in a large bowl and set aside. In a separate bowl, mix the yeast with ¼ cup warm water, stirring well.
  • Add the sugar, salt, and 1¾ cups water to the yeast. Add the mixture to the flour in the bowl and stir well. Cut in the shortening, using a pastry cutter or your hands. Stir in as much of the remaining flour as possible.
  • Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead 8 to 10 minutes until smooth and elastic, adding flour as necessary.
  • Transfer the dough to a large well-greased bowl, turning to coat both sides. Cover with a damp cloth and place in a warm, draft-free area. Allow to rise until double in volume, about 1½ hours.
  • Punch the dough down and let rise a second time until almost doubled in bulk. Grease 2 bread pans (9" x 5"). Punch dough down a second time and divide into two loaves. Shape loaves and place into prepared bread pans. Cover and let rise until almost doubled, about 2 hours.
  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake 30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans and allow to cool on a rack.