Amish White Bread

One of my daughter's favorite breads is an amish white bread. It has sugar in it but not too much to give it just a hint of sweetness.

1 cup warm water around 110 degrees F

1/3 cup sugar

1 3/4 tsp yeast

2 tbsp vegetable oil

3 cups flour

3/4 tsp salt

Run faucet on sink until water is around 110 degrees F. I always use a thermometer with the water because too cool and too hot will keep your yeast from proofing and rising appropriately. Once water reaches right temperature pour one cup into a mixing bowl and dissolve the sugar in the water.

Once the sugar is dissolved stir in yeast and let sit for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes your yeast should be foamy, if it is not than it did not proof and needs to be tossed.

After 10 minutes add the oil and salt and mix.

Start adding flour 1/2 cup at a time. Depending on the type of flour you are using you may not need all 3 cups. I typically only end up adding just over 2 and 2/3 cups of flour. You want your dough so it's not sticky but not super tough. Once you have the perfect amount of flour added in you will want to knead your dough for 5 minutes.

After I have 2 cups of flour added in if you do not have a mixing stand doing the work for you I find the last remaining flour is easier mixed in by using your hand and not a spoon. To knead the dough you just keep punching/pushing it down and rolling it over with your hands until it's nice and smooth.

Spray your mixing bowl with oil put the dough back in the bowl and cover with cling wrap. Let rise for an hour. Dough should be double in size. The dough should be left to rise at room temperature. If atmosphere is not warm enough dough will not rise appropriately. If temperature is a little too warm it's not a big deal your dough will just rise faster. If I'm in a hurry I will actually set my dough in front of heater so it rises faster.

After an hour knead the dough for a couple of minutes and fold into the shape of a loaf. Put it into a greased 9x5 loaf pan and cover with cling wrap and let rise for 30 minutes. It should rise to about 1/2" above the rim of the pan.

Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees F.

Let cool completely before cutting. If you cut the bread before it cools all the way the freshness will not last as long. I find storing it in a bread box is very useful by extending the life a couple more days. Otherwise I wrap in 1 layer cling wrap followed by a layer of aluminum foil.