Fresh Bread right out of the Oven!

There is nothing like fresh bread right out of the oven. Yum! Just the smell, the taste...it's so good! I have decided in the new year I would like to make our bread as much as possible. We are not huge bread eaters, but what we do eat we enjoy thoroughly. I'd like to try all kinds of things...foccacia, bagels, english muffins, pretzels, etc. Those are more the things we love.

But to start out, I tried a recipe for white bread out of my KitchenAid stand mixer cookbook. It was good, not great, but good for a first timer. Fresh, smelled great, and tasted good as well. It was perfect under the broiler with butter alongside stew, okay for toast, and yummy right out of the oven. So every Monday or every other, depending on how long it lasts, I will be making bread. Next up...whole wheat!

Basic White Bread (KitchenAid Recipe book)

1/2 C low-fat milk

3 T sugar

2 t salt

3 T butter

2 pkg. active dry yeast

1 1/2 C warm water

5-6 C all purpose flour

1. Place milk, sugar, salt and butter in small saucepan. Heat over low heat until butter melts and sugar dissolves. Cool to lukewarm.

2. Dissove yeast in warm water in warmed mixer bowl. Add lukewarm milk mixture and 4 1/2 C flour. Attach bowl and dough hook to mixer, turn to speed 2 and mix about 1 minute.

3. Continuing on Speed 2, add remaining flour, 1/2 C at a time, and mix about 1 1/2 minutes or until dough starts to clean sides of bowl. Knead on speed 2 about 2 minutes longer, or until dough is smooth and elastic. Dough will be slightly sticky to the touch.

4. Place dough in greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover, Let rise in warm place, free from draft, about 1 hour, or until doubled in bulk.

5. Punch dough down and divide in half. Shape each half into a loaf (roll out dough to 9x13, roll up jelly roll style starting from shorter ends.) place each in a greased loaf pan. Cover. Let rise in warm place, free from draft, about 1 hour and until doubled in bulk.

6. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans immediately and cool on wire racks.