Jack’s Favorite White Bread

This recipe is an evolution of several bakings over the years. The method is adapted from allrecipes.com Amish White Bread. The major changes in ingredients is listed below.

(photos from Jack’s kitchen)

Makes one loaf.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup water

2 tbsp sugar

2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast

1/2 cup buttermilk

3/4 tsp salt

2 tbsp vegetable oil

3 cups bread flour

1. In large bowl, dissolve sugar in water heated to 110F degrees. Stir in yeast and allow to set at room temperature until mixture is foamy.

2. Combine salt, oil and buttermilk into yeast mixture, followed by the flour a little at a time to keep the kitchen neat .

3. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth. Place in a well-oiled bowl, and turn dough in the bowl to coat with oil. Cover with a cloth. Allow to rise until doubled in volume, about one hour.

4. Punch dough down and knead a few minutes. Shape as desired, or place into 9”x5” loaf pan. Allow to rise another 30 minutes, until loaf has risen about an inch over the pan. If necessary, given it another 15-30 minutes. 

5. Bake at 350F degrees for 30 minutes. We usually bake our bread in the smaller “upper” oven of our stove. It bakes more quickly, so our bread is done in 25 minutes.

Changes from original allrecipes.com recipe:

1. Changed sugar from 1/3 cup to 2 tbsp because it was too sweet.

2. Instead of 1 cup of water, liquids are 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup buttermilk.

3. Baking time decreased by 5 minutes.