BASIC WHITE BREAD (per Sunset Cook Book of Breads)

For this recipe, you'll need two 9 by 5 inch bread pans, either metal or glass.
You'll also need about 6 cups of flour, but measure an amount well in excess of this into a large bowl
for convenience in dipping it out as you need it.

To measure, first stir the flour a few times, than spoon it lightly into a measuring cup and level it
off with a spatula or straightedged knife.  Heat the milk to aout 110 degrees F.

To make one loaf of bread from the basic recipe, halve all the ingredients except the yeast and warm water.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup warm water (about 110 deg F)
1 package active dry yeast (1 tablespoon)
2 cups warm milk (about 110 deg F)
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted and cooled (or use salad oil)
2 teaspons salt
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
6 to 6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, unsifted

Procedure:

1.  Pour water into bowl; add yeast and stir until dissolved.  Add milk, butter, salt, and sugar;
 stir until well blended.

2.  Sprinkle in 3 cups of the flour, 1 cup at a time, stirring until flour is evenly moistened.
Add 4th cup of flour and beat until dough is smooth and elastic (about 5 minutes -- rest when you get tired).
Mix in 5th cup of flour to make a stiff dough.

3.  Measure 6th cup of flour; sprinkle about half of it on board.  Turn dough out onto heavily floured area
of board.  Keep a light coating of flour on dough as you begin to knead.

4.  Fold dough toward you with your fingers; push away with the heel of your hand.  Rotate dough a quarter
turn and repeat folding-pushing motion, adding flour to board as you knead.  Kneading is finished when dough
is nonsticky, smooth and satiny.

5.  Put dough in greased bowl; turn over to grease top.  Cover bowl with clear plastic wrap or damp cloth.
Let rise in warm place (80 deg F) until doubled (about 1 1/2 hours).  Test by inserting 2 fingers into dough
- if indentations remain, dough is ready tto shape.

6.  After dough has risen, punch it down to release air bubbles, then turn dough out onto a lightly floured
board.  Knead dough briefly and shape into a smooth oval.

7.  To divide dough in half for 2 loaves, grasp dough in center and squeeze.  Then form each half into
a loaf by gently pulling top surface toward underside to make top smooth.

8.  Turn each loaf over in one hand and with your other hand, pinch a seam down center, then turn ends,
and pinch to seal.

9.  Put shaped loaves, seam side down, in greased 9 by 5 inch loaf pans.  Cover; let rise in warm place
until almost doubled (about 45 minutes).

10  Bake in a 375 deg F oven (350 deg F for glass pans) for about 45 minutes or until loaves are nicely
browned and sound hollow when tapped.  Remove from oven; turn loaves out of pans onto racke to cool before
slicing or wrapping.


Valhalla's Variation:  Substitue whole wheat flour for 1 to 1 1/2 cups of white.  Can also add wheat germ,
grain cereal, etc. with equivalent reduction of flour.