Holiday Polish White Bread
My wife has an excellent recipe for White Bread brought to this country from her grandmother who was originally from Poland. Makes 5 loaves. Typically, this style of bread would be served with baked ham. However it can go with almost anything. Stale leftovers can make excellent French toast.
Yield
48 servingsPrep
4 hrsCook
1 hrsReady
5 hrsIngredients
| Amount | Measure | Ingredient | Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | teaspoons |
yeast, active dry
3 packages |
|
| 5 | pound |
unbleached all-purpose flour
|
|
| 2 | teaspoons |
salt
|
|
| ½ | pound |
butter
two sticks |
|
| 4 | large |
eggs
|
|
| 5 | cups |
milk, whole
|
|
| 2 | cups |
sugar
|
|
Ingredients
| Amount | Measure | Ingredient | Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3E+1 | ml |
yeast, active dry
3 packages |
|
| 2.3 | kg |
unbleached all-purpose flour
|
|
| 1E+1 | ml |
salt
|
|
| 226.8 | g |
butter
two sticks |
|
| 4 | large |
eggs
|
|
| 1.2 | l |
milk, whole
|
|
| 473 | ml |
sugar
|
|
Directions
Proof yeast. Add yeast with ½ cup of warm water and ¼ teaspoon of sugar. Let site about 10 to 15 minutes until foamy.
In a medium saucepan, heat the milk and butter until the butter is melted and the milk just barely steams. Let cool until warm, around 110 degrees F.
In a very large bowl add the milk, sugar, salt and four cups of flour and yeast and mix.
Mixing using your hands work in another two cups of flour and the eggs.
Cover with a towel and let rise in kitchen in a warm non-drafty location until it doubles in size. About two hours. It will be very sticky.
Using your hands beat down the dough and begin working in the remaining flour or enough that the dough is not sticky.
Knead the dough (sprinkle in more flour if needed to prevent sticking) until is it elastic and as "smooth as a baby's bottom".
Divide into 5 portions.
Grease and flour five loaf pans. Shape and place each portion of dough into each loaf pan.
Cover with a towel and let rise until doubled.
Preheat oven to 325℉ (160℃).
Bake loaves for 40 minutes then turn them back to front and move them from side to side in the oven. eg. the inside loaves move to the edges and vice versa. Bake for another 20 minutes.
Remove from the oven, cool for 10 minutes in pans then remove from the pan and cool on wire racks.
The bread tastes best when cooled but it is hard to resist the fresh warm bread with butter.
One batch produces five delicious loaves.
Na drowie! Good health!
