We have been eating tons of carbs this week. And not so many fruits and vegetables. But don’t be haters. Carbs are filling and delicious too.

So do I have negative points in your book now? Well, will it help if I tell you that I made homemade bread last Sunday? So, at least we’re not getting all the preservatives of store bought bread. That’s got to give me a couple plus points, right? So, hopefully I’m at an even 0 now.

Well, this bread recipe is fairly simple. And its absolutely delicious. We haven’t decided if we like the bread better hot and fresh or the next day. Its good both ways. It tastes more like store bread later in the week, but we like that. Its really airy when its fresh. And because we liked this bread so much I’ve got a batch of it rising in the kitchen right now. And Nate told me I have to make this every Sunday. Its that good.

This recipe makes 2 loaves.

2 (.25 oz) packages active dry yeast – or about 2 TBS
3 TBS white sugar
2 1/2 cups warm water
3 TBS margarine
1 TBS salt
6 1/2 cups flour

1. In a kitchen aid mixer (or large mixing bowl) dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water.
2. In another bowl combine flour and salt.
3. Add 2 cups of flour mixture, and margarine to yeast mixture.
4. Stir slowly until combined.**
5. Add 1/2 cup of flour at a time, while stirring slowly, allowing to combine thoroughly after each addition.**
6. After all flour has been added and dough pulls from the sides, knead for 8 minutes.**
7. Remove from bowl and oil. Place dough in bowl and roll it in oil to coat.
8. Cover with a cloth and allow to rise for about 1 hour, till dobuled.
9. Deflate the dough and roll it around on a lightly floured surface.
10. Divide the dough into two equal halves and roll into loaves.
11. Place each loaf in a greased dough pan.
12. Cover and allow to rise for another 40 minutes, or doubled.
13. Meanwhile preheat oven to 425 degrees.
14. Lower temperature to 375 degrees and bake for 25 minutes.
15. Remove from oven, coat the tops with margarine and return to oven.
16. Bake for another 5 minutes.

Enjoy. My favorite way to eat homemade bread is with a little butter and honey. Mmm.

**I used my dough-hook and had it on my kitchen aid setting “stir” the entire time. Once it pulled away from the sides I set the timer for 8 minutes, but left it on “stir”

FYI: To keep the second loaf of bread from drying out we wrapped it and froze it. We thawed it on the counter overnight, and it was perfect to eat the next day.