HOMEMADE BREAD RECIPE

Ingredients: Supplies:
 1 envelope quick-rise instant dry yeast  1 flour cloth
 ¼ cup + 2 Tbsp. medium hot water (between 110-115°F)  4 – 9 x 5/8 x 5½ inch bread pans
 2 cups milk  1 large bread bowl
 ¼ cup + 1 tsp. sugar  1 large metal mixing spoon
 1/3 cup shortening + extra to grease pans and bread  Measuring cups and spoons
bowl  Small saucepan
 1 tsp. salt (heaping)  Small bowl
 2 cups cold water  Cutting board
 6-8 heaping cups of flour (all purpose or bread flour) +  Cooling rack
extra for kneading bread  Bread bags or Ziploc Bags
 1 stick of butter or margarine
Mixing Instructions:
1. Pour milk into the small saucepan and turn the burner on medium heat. Heat your milk until scalded*.
2. Combine yeast and 1 tsp. sugar in the small bowl. Add medium hot water and stir until yeast and sugar are
combined. Let it sit until the yeast foams up in the bowl.

3. In the large bread bowl, combine 1/3 cup shortening, salt, and the remaining ¼ cup of sugar.
4. Pour the scalded milk into the bread bowl and stir until all of the ingredients are dissolved.
5. Add the cold water to the mixture in the bread bowl and stir.
6. Once the ingredients are combined, add the yeast mixture to the bowl and stir.
7. Add flour slowly and mix with the metal spoon. When the dough becomes too stiff to stir (after about 4-5
heaping cups of flour), begin mixing it by hand. Add enough flour so that your dough sticks to your finger
slightly when you poke the center of the dough.

8. Lift up the dough and grease the entire inside of the bowl with shortening.
9. Cover the bowl with a flour cloth** and allow the dough to rise until it is twice in size (place in a dry, warm
place and it will take about 1 ½ to 2 hours).

10. Once the dough has risen, punch down the dough and let it rise again to twice its size (this will take about 1
to 1 ½ hours).
Baking Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F and prepare your bread pans by greasing the sides and bottom with shortening.
2. After the dough has risen for a second time, punch down the dough and cut it into 3 or 4 pieces.
3. Lightly sprinkle the cutting board with flour and knead the dough until all of the bubbles inside of it pop. Form
the dough into a loaf and place it into the bread pan. Do this for each piece of dough.

4. Cover the bread pans with your flour cloth and allow the dough to rise until the dough is slightly above the
bread pans.
5. Place the bread pans into the preheated oven and bake for 10 minutes.
6. Turn the oven down to 350°F and bake the bread an additional 25 minutes.
7. Once the bread is golden brown on the top, remove the pans from the oven and place them on a cooling rack.
8. Allow the bread to cool until it is warm enough to handle. Remove the bread from the bread pans and place the
loaves on a clean cutting board and grease the tops with butter or margarine.

9. Once the bread has cooled completely, place each loaf of bread into an individual Ziploc or bread bag to store.
Helpful Terms:
*Scalded: Milk heated almost to boiling point.
**Flour Cloth: A light, thin towel.
Alteration:
Instead of making 4 loaves of bread, you can choose to make 3 loaves of bread and use the remaining dough to make
buns. To do this, you will need a greased cookie sheet along with your 3 bread pans. Knead the dough in the exact same
way as when making the loaves, but shape them in small, round loaves (resembling buns) and place them about an inch
apart on the cookie sheet. Allow them to rise to twice their size and bake them following the same baking instructions
as you do while making the bread.