Homemade Bread

This is a super Yummy bread recipe from one of my very good friends who makes delicious bread and was kind enough to share her knowledge with me. Yesterday Amy and I made this and she experimented with using more wheat flour, some sprouted wheat flour and some oat flour and I expect she'll continue having fun with the recipe. Go to it and make your own homemade bread your own!

Wheat Bread

2 (.25 oz) package rapid rise yeast

1 tsp. White sugar

½ cup warm water (110 degrees F)

1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk

¼ cup warm water

¼ cup melted butter

¼ cup honey

2 tsp. Salt

3 cups whole wheat flour

2 cups bread or all-purpose flour

1. Dissolve yeast and sugar in ½ cup warm water. Let stand until yeast becomes frothy, about 6-8 minutes.

2. In a large bowl; combine milk, ¼ cup water, melted butter, honey, and salt. Mix well. Add wheat flour one cup at a time, mixing well with a wooden spoon. Mix the yeast mixture to the flour mixture, and let rest 15 minutes. Add white flour, mix and knead. Knead by hand for about 10 minutes or with mixer for 8 minutes. Your bread will be the right consistency when it springs back when you touch it. If it's sticky, add more flour slowly. Knead by hand one extra minute if you used a mixer. Place the dough in a greased bowl, and turn to coat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rise for 1 hour, or until almost doubled.

3. Punch down and divide dough in half. Roll out each half and knead a little. Form into loaves, and place in greased 9x5 inch bread pans. Butter tops of dough, if desired and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm area until doubled; second rise should take about 45 minutes.

4. Place a small pan of water on the bottom shelf of oven. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

5. Bake 25-35 minutes, or until tops are golden brown. Another way to test doneness is by tapping the top of the bread. Hollow sound means it is done. Cool 10 minutes on side in pans and then take out and put onto rack. Slice. Freezes well.