Be a Man, make some bread

Ok folks, here is my simple, easy bread recipe.  This is one of those things that you can futz with all you want, as it's just a basic loaf of bread.  Actually, this recipe will give you two to four loaves, depending on how big you make them.

You're going to need:

6 cups of white flour.  I use the "Better for Bread" high-gluten flour.
2 cups water
1 tablespoon raw sugar
1 tablespoon yeast
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon salt.

Let me start by saying that I use a stand mixer to mix my dough.  You can do it by hand, it just takes a lot more effort.

Warm up your water.  You want it no more than 100 degrees.  If you can pour it over your wrist without discomfort, you should be good.  Dissolve your sugar in the water, and then add your yeast.  Let the yeast get happy.

While the yeast is getting happy, put TWO cups of your flour in a mixing bowl.  Cut the butter into small cubes, and toss it in.  Add the salt.  Once the yeast is happy, and you can tell by having a layer of froth on top of the water, pour the water/yeast mixture into the flour.  Mix well.

Once you have your water/yeast/flour mixed, change to a dough hook.  Start mixing again, adding your flour in ONE HALF CUP AT A TIME.  This is important.  Due to the fact that we're measuring out our flour by VOLUME and not by WEIGHT, the actual amount of flour you're going to use may vary by as much as a cup.  By adding your flour one half cup at a time, you're giving the flour a chance to mix in the dough, and not adding too much flour. 

You can tell you've added enough flour when the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, and it doesn't stick to your finger when you poke it.

Now that your dough ball is mixed, you have to knead it.  Spread some flour on a flat, clean surface and turn your dough out of the bowl.  Knead it until it's smooth.  If the dough begins to "break", or you see it tearing as you fold and knead it, stop.  It's been kneaded enough.

Put the dough into a bowl that's been oiled.  Cover it with a damp towel or some plastic wrap.  Let it rise.  The dough is going to double in size, so make sure you have it in a large enough bowl. 

Here is where you can play around.  After the dough is risen, you can punch it down and let it rise again.  The more you punch it down, the smaller and more evenly dispersed the air bubbles in the dough will be.  If you only let it rise once, you're going to get larger, uneven air pockets in your bread, which gives it a rather rustic feel.  If you really want a rustic bread, don't bother with the bowl.  Shape it into loaves, let it rise, and then pop them in the oven when they're risen.  I normally punch the dough down one or two times.

After the last rise, however many you do, turn the dough out of the bowl onto your floured surface again.  Punch it down, and cut it into about four pieces.  You can ball these pieces up and put them into bread loaf pans, or you can roll them out into long loaves and put them on a sheet pan.  For a little different flavor, roll the dough out flat, sprinkle a light coat of rosemary into the dough, and then roll the dough into a long loaf.  Let the dough rise one more time.  This is a good time to pre-heat your oven to 410 degrees.

Once your loaves have risen that last time, place them into the oven at 410.  Bake for fifteen minutes.  Rotate shelves, and cook for ten more minutes.  Pull them out and let them cool just enough to handle, then cut a piece off, put some butter on it and eat it.

That's it.  Easy, simple, NO PRESERVATIVES, no crap, no junk, and it tastes great.  You can add just about anything you want to this bread to change it up - spices, different herbs, an egg, you name it.  Or you can just make it plain, and turn it into french toast, or sandwiches. 

Don't let it sit out too long.  Remember, there's no preservatives, so it won't stay "fresh" for more than a couple of days.  Goober recommends freezing it outside of any wrapper for a day, and then pulling it out and sealing it in a vacuum bag to avoid getting freezer burn. 

There you have it.  Bread, made by you.  Go for it.