Homemade White Bread

Pretty much nothing is better than the smell of warm, fresh bread baking in the oven. It makes your house smell the way houses should smell, and invites both daydream and excitement.

Bread is relatively easy. I used to make it often, or rather, the Ninjahusband and I used to take turns making it often, but recently we've been slacking. I think making this loaf this morning has rekindled my desire to bake bread, however.

Here is our recipe for bread, perfected through trial and error and many, many tubs of Earth Balance margarine.

White Bread
Makes 1 loaf.

1 1⁄2 cups hot water
1 tbsp yeast
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp vegetable oil
3 cups flour

1. Mix hot water, yeast, and sugar together. Allow to bloom for a few minutes. It should look kind of bubbly.

2. Sift the flour and salt together. Add oil and yeast mixture. Stir until combined, and turn out onto a floured surface. Knead a couple of minutes, until cohesive. Form into a loose ball, cover, and put in a very warm place to rise for 30 minutes.

3. After 30 minutes, uncover the dough and punch it down. Knead for several more minutes until the dough feels elastic. Form it into a loaf and place in a lightly greased loaf pan. Cover it again and let it rise for 45 minutes.

4. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 425 F. Bake the risen loaf for 20 – 25 minutes, until it is golden and hollow­sounding when tapped.

Batgirl's Tip: You can create an awesome rising environment for the first rise by boiling a pot of water and then placing it in the oven. Place the dough in a greased bowl, loosely covered, in the oven with the pot. The oven will trap the steam and make it nice and warm and risetastic. For the second rise, place the dough on top of the stove while the oven preheats. The residual heat will keep the dough warm enough to rise well.