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5 from 1 vote

Making Homemade Bread: A Lost Art

Author: Debbie Aruta

Ingredients

  • About 6 cups all-purpose flour and more for dusting the counter with it to roll it out.
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 tablespoon salt trust me it seems like a lot, but it is perfect
  • 2 tablespoons shortening yes that grease like substance
  • 2 packages regular or quick-acting active dry yeast (I use the two packages no measuring and with yeast you have to measure very very carefully.
  • 2 ¼ cup very warm water (hot tap water works nothing hotter or yeast will not work like it is supposed to.

Instructions

  • Mix (in large bowl) about 4 cups of flour, the sugar, shortening, salt, and yeast. Mix well because you want that yeast to be mixed thoroughly to activate through all the flour mixture.
  • Add warm water. (yeast will activate when you add the water) Mix for about a minute and still in a little flour at a time, so that the dough is easy to handle. Once you dust your counter top with flour your mixture will absorb that into it as well.
  • Flour your counter with handful of flour. Coat your hands as well with it. This helps keep the dough from attaching to you.
  • Knead the dough about ten minutes.
  • At this point: ***You can knead in additions. If you like cinnamon you may add about 1/4th a cup here. If you like raisins and cinnamon, add raisins too. One of my favorite additions is herbs. I like to add dried oregano from my garden and thyme. You could add any that you like. Rosemary would be marvelous in this bread. All sorts of herbs would be heavenly in this bread. You can add to taste.***
  • Place the ball of dough in a greased bowl. And I used extra virgin olive oil. I coat the sides of the bowl. Drop my dough in, coat the bottom, flip it and coat the top.
  • Put a dry towel on top of the mixture for about 50 min or till it has doubled.
  • Now comes the fun part. After the 50 min or so you poke it gently with your finger to see if the indentation stays. If it stays, your dough is ready. NOW PUNCH IT!!! Yep take your aggravations out on your bread. Right why are more people NOT baking bread from scratch?
  • After you punch it down, take dough out of the bowl and divide it into two. It ends up making two loafs of bread. After you divide let the dough rest for about five minutes.
  • Pick one & flatten. Using those old things our grandmas used called rolling pins. Flatten your first half. Now again this is another great place for additions. If you like cinnamon and sugar sprinkle tons on. I once used ¼ cup and that barely touched your taste buds. I would try at least half a cup of the mixture cinnamon and sugar. Also if you have other flavors you like of some dry mix sprinkle away.
  • Ok so roll out to a large rectangle in size. Then fold in thirds, fold first third down, tuck sides in, then roll the remaining dough down. Leave the seam on the bottom. Do for the other half of the dough as well.
  • Get two loaf pans and grease them both. Place seam side down in the pan and if desired melt some butter and brush on loafs in pans.
  • Let rise AGAIN for about 40-45 min. Till about doubled again. Now when you do both risings bread needs to be in a draft free area and somewhere warm. I usually preheat oven now and let them rise on the oven as it warms.
  • Turn oven to 425. Place loaves on bottom rung of oven.(tops should be about middle of the oven) Bake until golden which is about 25-30 min. If you knock on the bread it should sound hollow.
  • Flip out of pan to cool on rack and eat before you explode. Spread more melted button on loaves if you like, or cinnamon and butter.