Light and Fluffy Homemade Bread

I have fond memories of coming home to fresh baked loaves of homemade bread on the counter. It always smelled so good, and tasted even better! I have a lot of siblings, with 5 brothers mixed in, growing up we would all help with dinner preparations, and one of our favorite treats was bread or rolls. We have a few different favorite recipes, all of which are interchangeable to some degree, but this is the best one for bread! Occasionally, I would try to make it without my Mom, and my brothers would all through a fit and say that was the one thing I couldn’t do without her. I have had many lessons from her since, and have gotten better, and you should be able to follow these directions as well.

Ingredients

• 2/3 Cup ‏Oil
• 2/3 Cup ‏Honey
• 5 Cup ‏HOT Water
• 2 Tbls (2 Packets) ‏Dry Yeast
• About 10 cups ‏Flour
• 1/4 Cup ‏Dough Enhancer
• 2 Tbls ‏Salt

Directions:

1. Combine the first 4 ingredients in order listed – sprinkling the yeast on top of the water.
2.   Allow to sit – covered for a few minutes.
3. Add next 3 ingredients (about 5 cups flour, dough enhancer, and salt on top of the flour), and mix together well.  In a Bosch allow to mix for 3-4 minutes.  If by hand and a spoon, mix until it has a nice gluten stickyness about it (8-10 minutes).  .  If using whole wheat flour, allow to sit for several minutes before adding any additional flour.
4. Slowly add more flour ½  cup at a time, mixing well between each addition.  Total flour should be approximately 10 cups if using white flour, and less if using some or all whole wheat flour.  The appropriate consistency will be when the dough “cleans the sides” of the bowl, has an elastic consistency, and a silky appearance.
5. Using Crisco on your hands, and your working surface, dump out, and divide into fourths.  Place in greased pans, tucking dough under to form a smooth top loaf.
6. Cover away from drafts.  Allow to rise until top of loaf is at the top of the pan (approximately 1 hour).
7. Turn on oven to 350˚, and put the bread into the warming oven if not already rising there.  This will further the rising process while the oven preheats.
8. Bake bread at 350˚ for approximately 30 minutes.  To check doneness, dump one loaf out onto flour sack towel, and touch bottom of loaf.  It wants to be crusty and solid.  If not sufficiently done, replace in pan, and return to oven.
9. We like our bread not too hard on the outside, and so I allow the bread to cool on the flour sack towel for a few (3-5) minutes, and then I put it into the plastic bags to soften the crusts.  Be careful not to close the bags really tight, or the center of your loaves will retain too much moisture, and be doughy when you cut into the loaf.