Fluffy White Bread by Rachel

Bread always seems like such a daunting recipe to tackle, but really most of it is just waiting time.  I'll admit that it took me two tries to get this bread right, but the recipe is actually really simple and the first time I tried it, I added too much salt.  Before making bread, there are a few things that you should know:

1) Don't oversalt- this will kill the yeast and your dough won't rise.
2) Don't use boiling water- this will kill the yeast and your dough won't rise.
3) Wait.  Don't get anxious.  Give you bread the appropriate amount of time to rise.

Now, to start your journey...!

Ingredients
- 1 tbsp dry active yeast
- 1 1/2 cup warm water (must not be over 110 degrees Fahrenheit)
- 1 1/2 tbsp sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp canola oil
- 2 cups all purpose flour, then another 2 cups all purpose flour (total 4 cups)
- olive oil to oil your bowl and loaf pan

That's it!  Those are all the ingredients!



- Combine the warm water, sugar, salt and canola oil in a large bowl.  Give it a few stirs then let sit for about 5 minutes,  It should start to bubble and the smell of the yeast should get stronger.

- Add in two cups of flour and stir together.  This should form a very sticky and spongy dough.  Cover the bowl with a clean, damp towel.  Let sit for about an hour until the dough rises to double its size.

- Once the dough has risen, flour a clean surface with the remaining two cups of flour.  Pour the spongy dough onto the floured surface and knead.  Knead until all the flour is incorporated and the dough is elastic and smooth.

- Grease a bowl with olive oil and place the kneaded dough in the bowl.  Cover again with the damp towel and let rise for another hour until the dough has expanded to double its size.

- Once risen, punch the dough down and knead it a couple times.  Oil your loaf pan with the olive oil- I used a 9 1/2 x 5 1/2 loaf pan.  Put your dough in the loaf pan and shape it to fit the pan.  Cover again with the damp towel.  Let rise until it doubles in size (getting the trend here?), about an hour.  In the last 15 minutes of rising, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

- Put the risen loaf in the oven, but not too close to the top, as the loaf will rise more as it bakes, and bake for about 40-45 minutes.

- When it's done, the top will be lightly browned.  Remove and let cool on a cooling rack.

Ta-dah!  Once you've made this bread at home, you'll never want to eat store-bought bread again.  This recipe makes one wonderfully fluffy loaf of white bread for all your sandwich making needs!