Amish Bread

I am so scared of yeast it's not funny. If a recipe calls for yeast I'll usually just stop looking. If it has to rise and be kneaded and rise again...there are just so many steps where you have to do things just so and I'm so afraid of messing up. Well, no more! Now this is not a hard recipe at all to follow. And it seems pretty fool-proof it I can do it. It's not fancy or complicated, but it's good yummy bread to have with soup on a cold fall or winter night. It doesn't take too long and it's slightly sweet. It gives you 2 wonderful loaves and it makes the house smell amazing. If I'm brave enough to try it, you can, too!!

Amish Bread

• 2 cups warm water (110 F)
• 2/3 c sugar
• 1 1/2 T active dry yeast
• 1 1/2 t salt
• 1/4 vegetable oil
• 6 cups flour (the original says bread flour, but I used all-purpose and it turned out fine)

--In a large bowl, dissolve the sugar in the water and then stir in the yeast. Wait a few minutes for it to get foamy and smelly-good.
--Mix salt and oil into the bowl and then the flour one cup at a time.
--Knead onto a lightly floured surface until smooth.
--Place in a well-oiled bowl and cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rise 1 hour or until double in size (My trick for this is I put it in the microwave so there's no draft getting to it -- I turn the microwave on for a couple minutes with some water in there to warm/moisten the atmosphere before i put the bread in)
--Punch down and knead a few minutes. Divide in half and shape into loaves. Put them in 9x5 loaf pans and allow to rise 30 minutes or until they are 1 inch higher than the edge of the pan.
--Bake for 30 minutes at 350.