Amish White Bread

This was the first bread I baked that wasn’t flat, dense or just gross! I tried baking bread probably 10 times before I was successful. I’ll never forget the time that I made a whole wheat bread that was so dense, but my husband ate it anyway. I couldn’t help but laugh as I watched him chew it and chew it and then tell me it was good. It was so not good. This sweet amish bread however, is an easy fool proof bread that is sweet and so delicious hot out the oven with butter. The first loaf is always half gone within a few minutes at my house.

Ingredients

• 2 ½ cups warm water (110 degrees)
• 2/3 cup sugar 
• 1 ½ tablespoon active dry yeast 
• 1 tablespoon course sea salt
• 8 tablespoons or ½ cup unsalted butter 
• ** If using salted butter, decrease salt to 1-2 tsp
• 7 cups bread flour (save some of this for flouring surface when kneading)

Directions

In large bowl, dissolve sugar in 110 degree water, then stir in yeast. Let proof for 10-15 minutes. It will look foamy when done. 

Mix salt and oil into yeast mixture. Mix in flour 1 cup at a time. Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth, a few minutes. Place in large, well oiled, oven friendly bowl and turn to coat. Cover bowl with a hot, damp bowl.

Turn on oven to 200 degrees. Turn off oven when it reaches 200 degrees. Place covered bowl in oven. This provides a warm, non-drafty place for bread to rise.

Let rise for 1 hour or until double in bulk. 

Remove from oven and punch the bread. 

Knead for a few minutes. Divide into two loaves. Shape dough and place into 2 well oiled 9×5 loaf pans. If making rolls, divide into 24 pieces by continuing to divide dough in half with a pastry scraper. Roll with hands each piece into a ball and place 15 in a 9×13 metal pan and 9 in an 8×8 metal pan. Can be used for burger/sandwich buns or rolls.

Turn oven on to 200 degrees and turn off when it reaches 200 degrees. 

Place pans in oven and let dough rise for 30 minutes or until 1 inch above pans. 

Preheat other oven to 350 degrees during last rise. If only one oven, remove pans from oven and preheat to 350 degrees. 

Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool.