White Bread

This bread is good for sandwiches, toasted with jelly, hot out of the oven with real butter, etc. But we usually make it especially for french toast and sometimes for garlic bread. Sooo yummy!

White Bread -6 loaves- 350° for 30 minutes

1/2 Cup sugar
3 Tbsp salt
1 Cup instant powdered milk (powder)
6 Cups water (at about 110°)
3/4 Cup vegetable oil
about 15 Cups (or 5 lbs.) flour


Mix the sugar, salt and powdered milk in a very large bowl. Add the oil and some of the water (1 or 2 cups). Stir to make sure there are no powdered milk lumps. Add the rest of the water and mix.
Add 5-6 cups of flour and sprinkle in 3 Tbsp yeast. Mix a little by spoon: mixture will be lumpy. Add the rest of the flour, 1 cup at a time, mixing by spoon until it starts to be too hard to mix with a spoon.
Then I spray my hands with spray oil and knead the bread right there in the bowl by putting my hand under the bottom of the dough and folding it basically in half and turning the bowl about a quarter turn every fold. I add most of the rest of the flour in this way. Just get it so it isn't sticky anymore.
Dump the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead about 15 more minutes.
Let dough rise in a greased (I use something like Pam) bowl covered with greased plastic wrap. (About 1 1/2 hours.) Rise until double.
Punch dough down and rise until double again.
Punch down and separate into 6 even sections and shape into loaves.
Place in greased loaf pans.
Let rise again, covered, about 30 minutes.
Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes, rotating loaves halfway through to prevent uneven browning.
Let cool in pans for 10 minutes and then remove from pans and place on cooling racks.
Let bread cool thoroughly and place in storage bags. Only slice it as you need it- it stays softer.