One of my fondest food memories of my Grandma is her Homemade White Bread!  My Grandma used to make dozens of loaves at a time and distribute them among the family.  When I would step off the school bus I could smell the bread from the driveway!  Yummy!  Warm, homemade white bread topped with butter and brown sugar…delicious.  It is also fabulous toasted with butter.

I decided to start my food blog off with making homemade bread.

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It is incredible to think that something so delicious starts out with such simple ingredients.

Adapted from The Mixer Bible
Meredith Deeds & Carla Snyder

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 1/4 cup butter (cut into pieces)
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp salt
• 5 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp softened butter
• 1 egg beaten with 1 tbsp water

Directions:

1. Heat milk and 1/4 cup butter over medium heat (till butter is melted).  Let cool till warm.
2. In the mixer bowl, stir together yeast, water and sugar.  Let stand till yeast begins to foam (about 5 minutes).  Add warm milk mixture and salt.  Mix together, with paddle attachment until well combined.  Add 4 cups flour (1/2 cup at a time) to mixer till dough forms.
3. Add dough hook and knead dough adding some additional flour till dough forms a smooth and elastic ball of dough.  Knead for another 2 minutes, adding 1 tbsp of flour (as needed) to keep dough from clinging to the bowl.
4. Using your hands, form the dough into a ball.  Place back into the mixer bowl, rub with softened butter and cover loosely with plastic wrap.  Let rise for 1 to 2 hours in a warm, draft-free place until dough is doubled in size.
5. Uncover dough and punch down to work out air bubbles.  Form back into a ball, cover with plastic wrap and let sit an hour, till dough is doubled in size.
6. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and cut in half.  Pat dough into a rectangle .  Starting with the long end, roll dough up and place in greased loaf pan, seam side down.  Repeat with the remaining dough. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise 1 hour.
7. Pre-heat oven to 375°F.
8. Using a pastry brush, coat tops of loaves with egg wash.  Bake for 25-30 minutes or until loaves are golden.  Remove from pans and let cool completely on wire racks before slicing.