And I baked some bread...

I have been wanting to bake a loaf (or 2) of bread for a while. But I feel like I have to have a ton of time on my hands since it has to rise for an hour, and then rise again. So I finally had some time today and decided to make white bread since I've never made it before, and Rob won't eat the Honey Wheat I also wanted to make. My good friend Michelle (of Chelle's Cooking and Baking Creations) gave me 2 wonderful recipes. I believe she got them from her Joy of Cooking cookbook. I decided to try the fast and easy one since I started feeling a headache coming on. The recipe was easy and the result was a delicious loaf of bread. It didn't turn out as pretty as I would have liked, but it was delicious right out of the oven, slathered with some butter. theer goes my healthy night...

Fast White Bread

One 9x5-inch loaf

A quick and easy yeast bread designed to work with quick-rise yeast; regular active dry yeast works too.

Stir together in a large bowl or the bowl of a heavy duty mixer:

2 cups bread flour

1 T. sugar

1 package (2 ¼ tsp.) active dry or quick-rise yeast

1 ½ tsp. salt

Add:

1 cup very warm (115-125F) water

2 T. butter or margarine, melted or softened

Mix by hand or on low speed for 1 minute. Add ¼ cup at a time until the dough is moist but not sticky:

1 to 1 ¼ cups bread flour

Knead for about 10 minutes by hand or with the dough hook on low to medium speed, until the dough is smooth and elastic. Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl and turn it over to coat with oil. Cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place (75-85F) until doubled in bulk, 40 to 45 minutes.

Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan. Punch down the dough, form it into a loaf, and place seam side down in the pan. Oil the surface and cover loosely with a clean cloth. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, 20 to 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 450. Bake the loaf for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 and bake about 30 minutes more. Bake until the crust is golden brown and the bottom sounds hollow when tapped. Remove the loaf from the pan to a rack and let cool completely.