The Best Loaf of Bread I've Ever Made

Wow. That is what I thought when I pulled this out of the oven last night!!

And after such a wild day. Monday nights storms had caused our power to go out, again.....

This time however the entire weatherhead and riser was pulled out and pulled down to the ground and one of the lines had burned all the way through. The electricians who did the repairs said had the house been wood instead of brick we might well have had a fire!! That got our attention!!

Well anyway, it took all day but the repairs were made and we are happy. 

I had started the bread early in the day without knowing I only had half power ( I have a gas range.)

I used a new recipe I found on the King Arthur site that was for use in a bread machine using the dough option and doing a final rise and baking outside of the machine. The recipe is called Walter Sands' Favorite Bread-Bread Machine Version. NOTE:  You may make the whole process in the machine,  just set up the machine to bake a basic loaf using this recipe.

By the time I got home from a trip to town it was 2 in the afternoon and the electricians had come and the power was all of the way off. The bread was ready to be punched down and taken out of the machine to do a final rise and bake. I thought, "Now what am I going to do?" I formed the loaf and covered it very loosely with plastic wrap and placed it in the refrigerator in hopes that would slow things down until the power was restored.

At 4:30 we had power. The bread looked great. I took it out and let it sit at room temperature a half of an hour and baked as directed. What a beautiful and delicious loaf of bread!!

Here is the recipe: Note it can be prepared on the dough cycle or prepared and baked in a 1 1/2 pound or larger machine.

1 1/4 C. to 1 1/3 C. water, depending on the time of year (more in winter, less in summer)
1 heaping T. honey or sugar (I use honey)
1 1/2 t. instant yeast
1/2 C. nonfat dry milk granules
2 T. butter
2 t. salt
4 C. King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

Place the ingredients in your bread machine in the order recommended by the mfg., and program the machine for the dough cycle and start the machine. 

After the cycle is complete, allow the dough to continue to rise until doubled in bulk. Remove the dough, shape into a loaf, place it in a 9" x 5" buttered loaf pan. Let rise until doubled. Bake in a preheated 350 degree F oven for 35 - 40 minutes. Cool and enjoy!!