Guus Bosman

This weekend I baked bread again, and it worked out well.

I changed the recipe a bit: less sugar, slightly more salt and less butter. The recipe still calls for 2 tablespoons of margarine, which is a bit too much so next time I'll try to reduce that again.

Per your request, here is the recipe (it makes 2 loafs).

First, create a flour mixture. Combine the following ingredients.

• 2 cups of flour
• 2 table spoons of sugar
• 3 teaspoons of salt
• 2 envelopes Fleischmann RapidRise Yeast

Notice the use of RapidRise Yeast -- this type of yeast should not be dissolved in water, unlike traditional yeast. Then, warm the following:

• 1,5 cups of water
• 0,5 cup of milk
• 2 tablespoons of margarine

Stir the heated liquid into flour mixture. The liquid should be warm, but not hot -- certainly not boiling. Mix it through the flour mixture for 2 minutes. Continuously add 3 to 4 more cups of flour until you get nice soft dough. The dough should be slightly sticky, but not too sticky. Knead for about 10 minutes. Cover, let rest for 10 minutes.

Then, divide the dough in two and place in greased loaf pans. Cover the loaf pans with a cloth and let the loafs rise in warm place for 45 to 60 minutes. Brush the loafs with egg yoke for a nice crispy crust, and bake for 25 to 30 minutes at 400°F. Don't forget to cool the loafs on a wire rack so the bottom doesn't get to soggy (the first time I baked the bread I didn't have a rack -- chopsticks make a fine improvised rack).