basic bread recipe

Because my punk children refuse to eat bread bought at the store, this is what I do to bake bread every 4 or 5 days. It says "basic bread" and I'm told it's "not basic." Whatever you think of the recipe and process to make it, the bread is the basic base I use to make peanut butter and jam sandwiches every day.

In a really large bowl:

- 3 cups "hand-hot" hot water - put your hand under the faucet and when it gets hot to the point that you can still put your hand under it but it's getting close to getting too hot, that's where you want it.

- 4 tsp yeast - I have no idea how many individual packets that would be. We don't buy the packets, we buy it in the little jars or bulk bags. Once your yeast is open, store it in the freezer to keep it fresh.

- 3/4 cup sugar

Stir them together and put in your oven - turned off, light on - for 10 or 15 minutes until the yeast is foamy.

Add to the bowl:

1 egg

1/3 cup veg oil

3 cups flour - if you're using a mix of wheat and white, add the wheat first.

3 tsp salt

Stir it together, then add another 3 cups of flour. The dough will still be pretty runny.

This is when we put it in the mixer for the kneading - we have a food processor with a dough blade (we're still wishing for a Kitchenaid), and we put it in a third at a time and add more flour about a half-cup at a time until the dough gets to the consistency that we want. It's usually 3 or 4 more cups of flour. Adam likes it a bit more sticky than I do. I just watch for it pulling off the sides of the mixer. This can be done by hand - it will just take a bit longer to get everything kneaded in.

We sometimes use a mix of regular white flour (unbleached, if that matters to you) and whole wheat flour. I use 2 or 3 cups of wheat flour and the rest is white. The more wheat flour you add, the lower it will rise and it will be a lot more compact. Doorstops, on occasion. If you like big poofy loaves of bread, don't use very much wheat flour. This particular set of proportions does not lend itself well to all-wheat bread. Find another recipe for that.

Another hint - sift every bit of flour through a sifter as it's added. We didn't at first but then read something online that suggested it. We tried it and sifting the flour has made a huge difference in how the bread turns out. It's a lot lighter through the loaf.

When all the dough is mixed and kneaded into the consistency that you want, let it rise in the oven, still with the oven turned off and the light on. I don't know why this works to create the appropriate warm temperature for rising bread, but it does. Do this twice - rise, punch down, rise, punch down. This will take a couple of hours.

After the second punch down, separate the dough into 3 loaves and put them in the pans to rise a 3rd time. When they get to the top of the bread pans, you're ready to bake - 400 degrees for 25-28 minutes. And then you're done! Wrap it in plastic wrap to put in the freezer if you want it for later.

This can take 4 or 5 hours with all the rising, so don't expect to have this ready for dinner if you're starting at 4 pm. This is something to start in the morning for lunch or dinner.