Basic White Bread

Just recently I decided to try the first of the yeasted breads from this cookbook, the "Basic White Bread" (page 393).  My bread baking days go way back. For years I baked the Basic Whole Wheat Bread recipe from the La Leche League cookbook Whole Foods for the Whole Family, published in the 1980's. From that, I graduated to The Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book, which became my bread baking bible for years, and continues to be the last word in whole grain bread baking in my opinion. And although I don't spend a lot of time baking bread from scratch these days, if I do, I will still turn to Laurel's bread book. Once I learned to make a really delightful loaf of 100% whole wheat bread, I found it hard to settle for anything less, so it was difficult for me to accept making this loaf of bread, made from 100% white flour. I decided to compromise, and replaced half of the white flour with whole wheat flour. Technically, this can't be called "Basic White Bread" since I did this, but I couldn't in good conscious do otherwise. I also left out the olive oil, as I have found over the years oil and/or butter is not a necessary ingredient in a homemade loaf of bread.  As the name suggests, this is a very basic recipe, just the very simple ingredients necessary for any loaf of bread: flour, water, yeast, a smidgeon of sugar, and a pinch of salt. If you choose to incorporate whole wheat flour into this loaf, you may want to knead the dough for about 10 minutes instead of 5. Well worth the extra effort! This, like all homemade bread, fills the house with wonderful smells, and tastes like heaven!

"Keeping it McDougall Friendly" checklist:

ü Substitute at least ½ of the all-purpose (white) flour with whole wheat flour (not whole wheat pastry flour, in this case, which doesn't work well in yeasted breads).

ü Omit the olive oil, no substitutions needed.

ü Use a non-stick loaf pan that does not need to be oiled, such as one made of silicone.