White Bread
This bread has become very well known in my family as it has made its way to every holiday over the past few years. My grandma has even called me at 8 am with questions about how to make it.
Ingredients
3 1/4 cups bread flour
2 teaspoons instant yeast
2 teaspoons coarse salt
1 1/2 cups cool water
Instructions
In a large mixing bowl, whisk the flour, yeast, and salt together. Pour in the cool water and gently mix together with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon. The dough will seem dry and shaggy, but keep working it until all the flour is moistened. If needed, use your hands (as I do in the video tutorial above) to work the dough ingredients together. The dough will be sticky. Shape into a ball in the bowl as best you can.
Cover the dough tightly with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and set it on the counter at room temperature. Allow it to rise for 2-3 hours. The dough will just about double in size, stick to the sides of the bowl, and have a lot of air bubbles.
Lightly dust a large nonstick baking sheet with flour. Using floured hands, shape the dough into either two loaves or as many small rolls as you feel like. Loosely cover the dough and allow it to rest for 45 minutes.
During this 45 minutes, preheat the oven to 475°F
Place the dough in the preheated oven on the center rack. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. If you tap the loaves with a knife and they sound hollow they should be perfect
Remove the bread from the oven and allow to cool for at least 5 minutes before slicing and serving.