BASIC WHITE SANDWICH BREAD (makes 2 loaves)
Ingredients:
- 2 cups lukewarm water
- 2.5 tsp active dry yeast
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 5 cups all-purpose flour, plus up to 1 additional cup during kneading
1. In a mixing bowl, combine water and yeast. Let rest approximately five minutes.
2. Add salt and oil.
3. Add flour, one cup at a time. Mix with a wooden spoon, or your hands. Dough will be somewhat sticky.
4. Spread a generous amount of flour on your kneading surface. Turn dough out and knead 8-10 minutes until elastic and very smooth. Add additional flour as needed during this process. By the end the dough should be unsticky enough that you don’t need any flour under it.
5. Place dough in oiled mixing bowl, cover with plastic wrap or bag, and let rise in a draft-free place for 30 minutes or until doubled in size. I use my cold oven for proofing and it works well.
6. Punch down dough, turn out, and knead approximately 1 minute. Separate into two halves, shape into loaves, and place in bread tins (grease if necessary). Cover loosely with plastic and let rise in a draft-free place an additional 30 minutes.
7. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake loaves for 35 minutes, or until nicely browned on top and hollow-sounding when you tap the bottom. Remove to cooling racks and let cool completely before slicing.
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