Basic Yeast Bread

Basic White Yeast Bread

1 2/3 cups lukewarm water
1 tablespoon instant yeast
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoon butter, melted for brushing on baked loaf

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the water, instant yeast, honey, and salt. 
Add 4 cups flour to the bowl.  Knead at low speed until the dough comes together and is soft but not sticky.  Add a few more tablespoons flour if necessary, up to 1/2 cup.  Continue to knead for 6-9 minutes until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and is soft and smooth and passes the winderpane test.
Transfer the dough to a lightly-oiled bowl and make sure that it is completely coated.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm and draft-free place for about 45 minutes or until doubled in size.
Lightly flour your work surface and turn out the dough onto it.  Divide it into two equally-sized portions.  Use your fingers to gently pat each half into an 8x12 inch rectangle while pressing it all over to remove any air pockets.  Starting at the short end, roll up the rectangle into a tight roll and pinch the seams to seal.  Tuck the ends of the roll slightly under the roll to create some tension on the surface and place each loaf into a greased 8x4 inch loaf pan, tucked ends and seam side down.  Cover with a greased piece of plastic wrap and let rise for about 45 minutes in a warm and draft-free place until doubled in size.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and adjust oven rack to lower-middle position.
Bake loaves for 25-30 minutes until golden brown (and the loaf registers 200 degrees).
Invert bread onto a cooling rack.  Reinvert loaves and brush tops and sides with melted butter.  Let cool completely before slicing.

Notes
Pan Size: This recipe makes 2 regular loaves baked in two 8x4-inch pans or one large loaf baked in a 9x5-inch loaf pan. To make one large loaf, don't divide the dough into two and pat it into a 9x13-inch rectangle. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Some people commented that their 9x5 loaf was too big, so I recommend using two 8x4 pans. 

No stand mixer? This bread can be kneaded by hand if you don't have a stand mixer. Use a large bowl and knead the dough for 10 minutes.

Bread Machine: Depending on the size of your bread machine you can make one big loaf or half the recipe and make a smaller loaf. The bread won't be as pretty but taste and texture will be the same.

Flour: This recipe works with all-purpose and bread flour. Bread flour will give it a slightly chewier and a bit more elastic crumb.

Lukewarm Water: Water should be warm, not hot. Between 95 F and 110 F is perfect.

This next recipe is from Bread Beckers. It is a basic dough that can be used for everything, bread, rolls, baguettes, cinnamon rolls, etc., with some different shaping and additional ingredients.
This recipe uses freshly-milled grains, so whole wheat flour. You can use store-bought flour which will be fine, but the nutritional value will be less.

Basic Yeast Bread with Freshly-Milled Flour

Makes 2 – 1 pound loaves

1 1/2 cups very warm water
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup honey
2 teaspoons sea salt
1 egg
4 1/2 cups freshly-milled flour (or whole wheat flour, bread flour, or all-purpose flour)
1 tablespoon instant yeast

Combine water, oil, honey, salt, and egg.
Add half of flour and mix thoroughly.
Add yeast and enough flour to make a soft dough.
Knead until smooth and elastic (about 5-6 minutes).
Let rise until double (about an hour).
Shape as desired and let rise again until double.
Bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes. The bread is done when the internal temperature is 190 degrees.
Remove loaves from pans and allow to cool completely on a wire rack. (If you cut when the bread is hot, it will be gooey.)