2/3 cup white sugar
2 cups warm water
5 teaspoons yeast
6 cups unbleached all purpose flour
2 tablespoons vital wheat gluten
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup oil
In a stand mixer, add sugar and warm water. sprinkle yeast on top and let it sit 5 minutes until it gets foamy. Add flour, salt, and oil. Turn on mixer and knead for 7 minutes.
Place in a large, clean, greased bowl to rise and cover lightly with greased plastic wrap or a dish towel. Let it rise until it has doubled in size. If you poke the dough and it doesn't spring back, you will know it is ready. Punch the dough down and knead it a couple of times.
With buttered hands, shape into two loaves and place in greased bread pans. Let it rise again until it has risen to the top of the loaf pan.
Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Remove promptly from pans and let it cool on a baking rack or clean dish towel.
Enjoy!
Tips:
Flour: Flour should never be an exact measurement when making yeast breads. The look at touch of the dough will tell you how much flour to add more than a measuring cup. The dough should be very soft. Add just enough flour that you can still handle the bread, but no more. If you flour your finger and tap the dough without it sticking, it will be just right. Another indicator is to watch for when the dough starts pulling away from the sides of the bowl.
Freezing: This dough freezes great. Unless I am going to give a loaf of bread away, two loaves is way too much. You can freeze it after the first rise, when you shape the loafs. Place one shaped loaf in a gallon sized freezer bag. When you are ready to use the frozen loaf, place it in a greased loaf pan, cover with lightly greased plastic wrap, and let it thaw overnight in the fridge. In the morning place in on the counter and let finish rising for a few hours. Bake as normal.
