MOM'S BASIC WHITE BREAD

MAKES FOUR 9-INCH LOAVES

I love making homemade bread. But I must admit that I have succumbed to the electric mixer varieties. Hand-kneading for 10 to 20 minutes is just not my style. My mother, on the other hand, would much prefer to do it the old-fashioned way. This is one of her foolproof recipes. Of course, the ingredients can be adjusted to processor or mixer requirements.

INGREDIENTS

4½ cups warm water (105 - 115° F)

3 packages active dry yeast

1/3 cup sugar or honey

2 cups non-fat dry milk powder

12 cups (approximate) all purpose flour

1 tablespoon salt

1/3 cup butter, softened, or butter-flavored cooking oil

3 eggs

Sprinkle yeast on warm water in a large bowl. Add sugar and stir. Mix in 2 or 3 cups of flour and all the powdered milk. Beat in all remaining ingredients. Stir in enough flour to make a stiff dough. Turn onto a floured surface and knead 10-20 minutes or until dough is smooth, satiny and no longer sticky, adding additional flour if needed. Shape into a ball and place in greased bowl. Turn once so all surfaces are greased. Cover with greased plastic wrap, then with towel. Place in warm, draft-free area and let rise until doubled, about 1½ hours.

When dough is doubled, divide into 4 or 5 portions and shape each into a smooth ball. Cover and let rise 10 minutes. Roll each piece into a 7x15 rectangle to press out any air bubbles. Then roll up and shape into loaves. Place loaves into 4 greased 9 inch bread pans or 5 greased 8½-inch bread pans. Cover and let rise until doubled.

To bake, preheat oven to 400° F. Bake loaves for 15 minutes. Check to see if tops are browning too fast and cover with foil if necessary. Bake 20-25 minutes longer. Loaves are done when sides pull away from pans and they sound hollow when tapped. Remove from pans and cool on racks.

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