Honey Bread

The "Old Faithful" of homemade breads around here

Top six reasons I love this recipe in no particular order:
6. It's forgiving. I don't always let it rise for the suggested time, and 3/4 of the time I completely forget to add the salt.  and it still turns out fine. It's my dream loaf in that way!
5. My sister made it for me the very first time, and I fell in love with it. Plus, she served it with homemade lasagna, which just so happens to be another favorite. yum!
4. Irony: the original recipe card Kristen gave me calls it "Whole Wheat Bread." I just find that funny!
3. It's the first homemade bread that I ever attempted, and Sam had to rescue it as I got a little carried away with the flour (He, who by the way had never baked a loaf of bread, suggested that I add water... and he was right. You gotta love those marital moments:).
2. It freezes well
1. Jack gets involved, and it becomes entertaining... dough snakes, dough balls, dough on the windows...
0. "I would never say this myself, but my friends tell me... "it tastes pretty dang amazing with butter and honey!

Ingredients:

2 ½ cups water

6-9 cups bread flour

3 TBSP oil

4 TBSP honey

1 ½ tsp. salt

2 packets yeast

Preheat oven to 400.

In a large bowl, combine 2 ½ cups warm water with two yeast packets. Add oil and honey. Add flour—start with 6-7 cups and then add as needed. Add salt. Get bread out of the bowl and knead about 10 minutes.

Put the dough back in the bowl for about 1 to 1 ½ hours, covered with a kitchen towel.

Punch 30 times. Remove the dough from the bowl and knead for about three minutes. You want the dough to be a little sticky.

Cut the dough into two loaves, pinching where the knife sliced the dough and shaping the loaves. Put the bread in two oiled pans, and cut three slits in the top. Brush the top of each loaf with some egg.

Bake at 400 for 10 minutes and 300 for 20 minutes.