Bread Dreams

So, at this second, I have some Amish White Bread rising in my kitchen... It's a wonderful feeling. I adore the smell of baking bread, the taste of warm, soft, fresh loaves, and the feeling of kneading the soft dough in my hands. In one of my crazy dream worlds, I'd have a bakery. I'd be up at 4 baking the bread for the day, and get to stand in the shop and talk to customers as they came and went. I'd be on a street with lots of foot traffic, and would know most of the people that came in. While I'm a damn good baker, this isn't so realistic when I only have a couple of recipes that are TRULY fantastic. It's really hard to test out new ones, too. Chris can only eat so many carbs (though he's willing most of the time), his office, while they beg me to bake at least once a month, can only take so much, and our neighbors are even starting to burn out. And, this is only after perfecting white bread, soda bread, blueberry muffins, chocolate cupcakes, and a few flavors of cookies. There are a few baking and pastry books out there that really walk through the intricacies of baking, but who to bake for?!?! Suppose I'll have to just continue to take it one loaf at a time, dream, and drive Chris crazy with the little bits of dough that are forever stuck to our counters.

AMISH WHITE BREAD
(mostly from http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Amish-White-Bread/Detail.aspx)

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups warm water
  
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 6 cups bread flour

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl, dissolve the sugar in warm water, and then stir in yeast. Allow to sit for about 1/2 an hour or until foamy.
   
2. Mix salt and oil into the yeast. Mix in flour a bit at a time. Make sure there are no lumps. Knead dough on a floured surface until smooth. Place in an oiled bowl. Cover. Allow to rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
3. Punch down dough. Knead for a few minutes, and divide in half. Shape into loaves, and place into two oiled loaf pans. Allow to rise again for 30 minutes.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes.Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes.