My 1st Attempt At Homemade Bread

I haven't attempted homemade bread before; except for banana bread (which I
LOVE). I wanted to make my family some warm, soul satisfying, homemade bread to
go with our soup over the weekend. I searched and searched the internet to find
an easy recipe for a bread making dummy. I came across this Amish White Bread
Recipe and to my surprise, it turned out good.

Ingredients:

2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
2/3 cup white sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
6 cups bread flour

In a large bowl, pour in warm water (I heated my in the microwave for 1.5
minutes). Then add in the sugar and mix well. Then add the dry yeast to this.
The recipe said to let the yeast "proof." I had not idea what proof
meant. I looked it up and it means that you need to let the yeast start bubbling/fizzing.
It takes about 10 minutes. Then add in the salt and oil and mix well. Then add
in the flour, one cup at a time until it is all mixed together.

Place the dough on a floured, clean surface (I placed it on wax paper on my
counter top). Then kneed the bread until smooth and no longer sticky. Then
place in a clean, oiled bowl. Cover with either plastic wrap or a clean dish
cloth. Let the dough rise for 1 hour.

After 1 hour, place the dough back on the counter top. Punch down the dough
and kneed for a few minutes. Divide the dough in half and place in two well-oiled
9x5 pans. Let the dough rise again for 30 minutes.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

This bread is delightful. If you have never made bread before, I suggest you
try it! The bread is denser than your everyday sandwich bread, but we like
that. It also has a sweet taste to it!