My Favorite 2 Hour Bread Recipe

Okay, after reading this you no longer have permission to whine, 'I can't make good homemade bread for this reason or that'. It's quite easy and many ladies (and men) make all their bread on a regular basis. It is much better for you, tastes divine and will cost less then an equal (if that's possible) quality you would find in a bakery. If you have any questions I will do my best to answer. I think there's something therapeutic about the process of making the bread as well as the lovely aroma as it fills your home.

So, put those funky, no tellin' how old heat and serves back on the shelf and let's get busy!

This makes three medium sized loaves:
2 scant (not full) Tablespoons instant yeast
2 cups warm water (approx. 105*)
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup shortening or softened butter
1 tsp salt
2 Tablespoons Vital Wheat Gluten
6-7 cups bread flour

Put the warm water into a large mixing bowl (Kitchen Aid mixer bowl if you have one). Sprinkle the yeast and sugar into the water and let set until foamy (about 10 minutes).

Meanwhile, coat 3 loaf pans (preferably glass) with cooking spray.

Next, measure 5 cups of flour into the bowl of foamy yeast and stir (no foam? bad yeast...buy some fresh and try again).

Add the eggs, shortening, salt, and vital wheat gluten to the mix with either the kneading attachment on your mixer or a wooden spoon and mix well. Continue adding flour until the dough is stiff enough to form a sticky ball.


If using a mixer, continue adding flour until a nice ball is formed and is kneading nicely in the bowl, continue kneading for about 5 minutes adding flour as necessary to keep from sticking to the bowl.


If mixing by hand, dump the sticky ball onto a floured surface and knead, knead, and knead some more (about 10 minutes) adding flour as needed but not too much that the dough is dry.

**The secrets to delicious bread is making sure the dough is a bit sticky but not enough to stick to your hands and proper kneading! (see kneading link above)**

Once the dough is kneaded well, form into a ball and let rest about 5-10 minutes.

*Please note: The vital wheat gluten and the instant dry yeast make it unnecessary to let the dough rise twice! Woot! Thus, 2 hour bread instead of ALL DAY bread. ;)

Separate into 3 equal pieces. Take each piece and form into a tight ball with your hands (this squeezes out air pockets). Shape into loaves and place in greased loaf pans. They don't have to look perfect, it'll taste GREAT! ;)

Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray and place a piece of plastic wrap, waxed paper or a clean, damp dish towel over the loaves and let rise until double in size (approx. 45 minutes depending on how warm the area is).

Once the loaves are doubled in size, place in a cold oven and turn the oven temperature to 350*. Bake for about 30-40 minutes or until lightly browned. When you remove the loaf of bread from the pan you should hear a hollow 'thump' when gently thumped with your finger.

It will smell sooooooo good but resist messing with it yet. Get out the butter and butter the top generously. Let cool at least 15 minutes before slicing!

For soft crust: After buttering the top, place a clean, dry dish towel over the top and let cool for 30 minutes. Remove from pan and keep wrapped in a dish towel, paper bag or loosely wrapped in plastic.
For chewier crust: Omit buttering the top, remove from pan immediately and cool on wire rack. Store wrapped in a clean dish towel.

Can't eat 3 loaves before it gets stale? After completely cooled, wrap each loaf in plastic wrap and then place in gallon freezer bag or wrap in foil (this is a better option if you would like to warm it up). When ready to use, thaw completely in the wrapping you used (this keeps the moisture in) and then re-heat wrapped in foil, if you'd like, at 350*.

Variations:
Substitute part of the flour for 1 1/2 cups rolled oats.
Add flax seed and/or wheat germ.
Substitute 30-50% whole wheat flour.
Add in 1 Tbls. italian seasoning and 1 tsp. garlic powder.

For dinner rolls: Instead of shaping into loaves, after the dough rests pinch equal sized pieces off and form into tight balls, place in two greased 9"x13" glass baking dishes. Let rise until doubled and continue with recipe with the exception of the baking instructions which should be changed to 400* for 12-15 minutes.
Or freeze the individual balls on a cookie sheet and once frozen place in a zippered bag.
To cook: Place in your greased 9"x13" pans covered with plastic wrap that has been sprayed with cooking spray and thaw overnight on the counter. When dough has doubled in size bake according to above instructions.

The bread pictured on the red cutting board has about 1/2 cup flax seed and 1 1/2 cups rolled oats added. The bread on the white towel has about 30% whole wheat flour and 1/3 cup flax seed.

Leave me a message and let me know how you liked it, what variations you came up with or I'd love to hear anything else you have to say!