Amish White Bread

  The last bread I made didn't rise as well as I had hoped. I used the same ingredients and followed the same procedures (though not this recipe). A friend suggested that it might have been the weather. That day was cold and rainy. Today was cold and sunny (and with very high barometric pressure). Whatever it was, it worked.

 This recipe is from Restless  Chipotle  and can  be found here.

I proofed the yeast (because I've had it in my freezer for the better part of a year) by placing both the water and milk in a large measuring cup and warming it in the microwave oven. I then spooned in the sugar and yeast and set it aside. In ten minutes it was very foamy and had "proved" it was alive and thriving.

 I then melted the butter in a bowl (also using the microwave) and  added the vegetable oil. To this I slowly added the flour and salt and mixed it very well.

 Finally, after about ten minutes the yeasty liquid was ready to add and I poured it onto the flour. I then stirred it with a tablespoon (no mixer for me) and poured it onto a floured pastry cloth. This I kneaded for eight minutes.

 I think proper kneading is the most important  step in bread  making. It must be done for at least eighth minutes. It's also the most pleasurable step. As the dough warms with our hands, it becomes a living thing.

I then greased a large bowl and set the dough in a warm oven to rise. I gave it an hour and a half. Here's how it looked after the first rise:

 Then I punched it down and divided it in half. I formed two loaves and placed then in pans and placed them back in the warm  oven for a second rise. This time I gave it an hour. When I took  the pans out so I could heat the oven, both overflowed their pans by an inch or so.

 The two loaves were not exactly equal. Now was the top equally smooth, But they're both pretty, I think.

 I let them cool for an hour or so before  deciding to have a slice.

 It's perfect. The top is nicely browned and the texture of the bread is light and airy. The taste is sweeter than some and yeasty-good.