Farmhouse Bread ( 3 loaves)

There is nothing like the scent of fresh-baked bread and taking that first slice of warm bread from the oven, smothering it in butter, and biting into it!

I have always loved making bread but had gotten away from the habit for several years. About a month ago, we decided to teach our kids how to make bread and I found this amazing recipe, ( farmgirlfare.co for original recipe) which I tweaked to use local ingredients like honey and butter.

Farmhouse bread ( 3 loaves)

8-10 cups flour ( we like sunrise mill flour- not a sponsor)

4 cups milk

2 Tbsp. honey or maple syrup

2 Tbsp. butter

4 cups milk

1 & 1/2 Tbsp. yeast 

1 & 1/2 Tbsp. salt

In a small saucepan, heat the milk, honey and butter till butter is almost all melted.  Milk should be just over room temp, but not too hot.  In a large mixing bowl, mix 4 cups of flour with the yeast, stir in the warm milk mixture and mix till mostly smooth.  This should look like a thin pancake batter.  Cover with a dish towel and let rest for 20 minutes

  Your batter should be nice and foamy and thicker, now add the salt and 1 cup of flour at a time, mixing thoroughly, until dough starts to form.

    Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead in the remaining flour.  Begin kneading your dough, till the dough is smooth and elastic.  This can take up to 10 minutes and sometimes more, depending on how aggressive you are when kneading your dough.  Dough should stretch, but not break when you pull on it.  Form into a ball, place back into the bowl ( I usually lightly oil the top so it doesn't dry out)and cover with a towel to let it rise until double ( usually about 2 hrs.)  

Once dough has doubled in size, turn dough back out onto a lightly floured surface and let it rest a minute or two.  Divide dough into 3 equal pieces.  Fold each piece in on itself a couple times and then tightly roll the dough into a loaf shape.  Place in a bread pan, seam side down.  You might have to four or oil your bread pan, mine are seasoned, so no need to flour them for me.  At this time, I like to make 3 diagonal cuts across the top of the bread dough, so it looks cool when it's done (this also helps it rise better in the oven)

   Let the dough rise for about 45-60 minutes.  

Preheat your oven to 375 and bake your bread for 30 minutes.

If you would like to add steam to help your bread bake, place a metal baking pan in the oven to preheat. When you place the bread in the oven, add some water to the hot pan and it will create steam for a beautiful way to bake your bread.

    Once you get your bread out of the oven, take it out of the bread pan and place on a cooling rack to prevent your bread from getting soggy.  Enjoy!

We like to make this recipe so we have a couple loaves to put in the freezer, or we can share with friends and neighbors.

Let us know how your bread turns out! or, if you have a favorite bread recipe, please share it in the comments or email it to us at Carrie@chrisncarries.com We are always looking for new bread recipes to try!

~Chris & Carrie