Nothing Beats Homemade Bread

I do not know anyone who would ever argue the fact.....Everyone loves home made bread!  But what most don't realize is that most of the bread that is sold at the bakery in your local grocery store is still full of the unknown!  This is why home made is the best, not only do you know what goes into it but you can add to it and create your own bread creations. 
Personally, I don't care for the taste of store bought bread, I find it tastes too doughy.  So in our kitchen we have many different bread recipes to keep me busy and to give us a change.  With a large family we can go through two to five loaves of bread a day depending on our meals, so on a slow day I tend to make a few extra loaves to freeze.  Just remember if freezing bread to use an airtight freezer bag or container and only keep bread for up to a month....always rotate! Now for first time bread makers, sometimes your loaves may come out lop-sided or uneven.  Don't worry to much its all about trial and error, I have to say when I started making bread I was so upset because it didn't look like other peoples loaves but with constant baking I figured out what needed to be done.  Now don't get me wrong, I am no where close to perfect, I still have my flops from time to time but with eight children on the homestead it really doesn't matter what it looks like as soon as it is out of the oven and a bit cool it disappears!
Here is one of our bread recipes for you to try!

White Bread

In a large bowl, dissolve 2 1/4 teaspoons of active yeast with 2 cups warm water.  Let sit 10 minutes until creamy.  Mix in 1/2 cup of sugar, 1/4 cup soft margarine or butter, 1 egg, 2 teaspoons of kosher salt and 2 1/2 cups of flour. Using a spoon mix until dough is smooth.  Add 3 1/2 more cups of flour 1/2 cup at a time and knead until dough pulls together.  Place in oiled bowl cover and let rise until doubled in bulk.  Punch down dough and knead for 3 minutes.  Let sit for 10 minutes then divide dough into two equal portions place in greased loaf pans and let sit covered until doubled in bulk. Bake at 350 F for 35 minutes or until nicely golden brown on top.  Remove for oven, let cool and slice.  Enjoy!

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