Soft White Bread (Easy & Cheap)

I came up with this recipe a few years ago when I made my transition from active duty to a stay at home mom. I wanted to save as much money as I could now that we were on one income only, but there is another part to the story! I used to buy the same brand of bread from the store. I noticed that this bread would last for AT LEAST 2 weeks on my counter without molding. Well, one day I bought that same brand of bread and brought it home to make a sandwich for my daughter. I opened the loaf and it was covered in green mold in the center… this got me thinking. Previously, the bread had lasted at least 2 weeks on my counter without showing any signs of mold… and this bread was covered in mold. That meant that this loaf was sitting on the shelves for a very long time. That was when I really got serious about baking things from scratch, especially this homemade bread. This bread is cheaper to make than any bread I can find on my grocery store shelves. An added bonus is that you know exactly what is in the bread.

After letting the yeast, water and sugar sit for 15 minutes, you just mix all the ingredients together with a sturdy spoon and form this dough. It shouldn’t be sticky but it also should be soft. You can use a stand mixer with the dough hook, instead of by hand. Either way works great.

Knead it for 5 minutes, and this is what it will look like. An elastic ball of dough, that is still a bit soft. Kneading bread helps activate the gluten in the flour.

Let it rise for one hour, or until it doubles in size.

Separate it into loaf pans, let it rise for another hour or double in size. If you are in a hurry, you can preheat your oven to the lowest temperature it goes (mine is 170 degrees), then turn it off once it preheats. Put your loafs into the oven and let them rise in there! An hour process will shorten to about 30 minutes. Be sure to cover them in greased plastic wrap!

Bake it at 375 for 20-25 minutes or until it is this beautiful golden brown color. Let it cool completely before cutting it with a bread knife. This bread lasts 3-5 days at room temperature because there are no yucky preservatives.

Soft White Bread Recipe

(two loaves)

Ingredients:

• 1 package active yeast
• 1/4 cup honey or white sugar, plus a pinch
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil/melted butter/coconut oil/vegetable oil
• 2 cups warm water
• 4-6 cups flour

Directions:

1. Whisk together the warm water, sprinkle of sugar, and yeast. Let it sit for 10-15 minutes until the yeast is slightly bubbly/foamed and active. Then add the oil, salt, sugar, and whisk together well.
2. Add 3 cups of the flour, and stir with a sturdy wooden spoon, or using the dough hook attachment with a stand mixer. Add more flour 1 cup at a time until the dough comes together and is no longer sticky. Turn the dough out onto a clean countertop and knead for 5 minutes. Grease a large bowl and add the dough. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp dishcloth and let rise for 1 hour or until it doubles in size.
3. Once the dough has doubled in size, punch it down and separate into two equal parts. Put each part into a greased loaf baking dish and cover with plastic wrap/damp dishcloth again for 1 hour or until doubled in size(if you are in a rush, scroll up and see my recommendation for this step).
4. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Bake the loaves for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool the bread in the pans for 5 to 10 minutes and then remove from pans and allow to cool completely. In an airtight container or ziploc bag, it will keep at room temperature for up to 3-5 days.