Mr. Coxon’s Simple White Bread for 10 Kid-loaves

(This cuts my 20 Kid-loaves recipe in half. Of course, you could halve it again.)

Ingredients

5¼ cups warm water (about body temperature—test with finger)

3 packages regular dry yeast

2tbls sugar

6tsp salt

5lbs white all-purpose flour (I prefer unbleached.)

3tbls vegetable oil (I prefer sunflower, but any kind will work.)

Directions

1. Put all water in a medium bowl and add all yeast.

2. Mix all other ingredients in a very large bowl.

3. Add yeast/water mix to large bowl with other ingredients and stir until

mixed.

4. If dough is too sticky, add a little flour. Add a little water if it’s too dry.

5. Portion out dough into desired number of loaves (four to ten, depending

on desired size).

6. Knead: Pancake, ball, pancake, ball, pancake, ball. Place each loaf on a

greased baking sheet.

7. Allow to rise for about an hour.

8. Punch down by pushing your fist into the center of each loaf. Fold back

into a ball. Do NOT knead as much as in step 6.

9. Allow to rise for another hour.

10. Bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes. Check often for readiness.

11. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before enjoying. It’s great even without butter or margarine.

For variety, throw one or two tablespoons of your favorite herb or spice into the mix in step 2. I like rosemary with black pepper.

Also, you could replace a pound or so of white flour with whole wheat, rye, or flax meal without affecting the rest of the recipe.

Eat all of the bread in a few days: Store-bought breads last longer because they are filled with preservatives. Molds love this preservative-free bread at least as much as kids… I use bread making in class during our study of living systems in which we study the five kingdoms of living things. Fifth graders tend to have lots of experience with plants and animals, but usually little with fungi like yeast and mold (we study protists and monerans with our terrariums). It’s also a lesson in fractions, measurements, and economics (providing each of my 40 science students with a five-inch loaf costs a total of about $5).