Homemade bread

1 cup water, 110 F

1 cup milk, 110F
⅔ cup sugar, (you can use less)
1 ½ tablespoons active dry yeast
1 ½ teaspoons salt
¼ cup vegetable oil, -- coconut oil works really well here (melt it first and let it cool to 100F)! OR use melted butter
5-½ cups bread flour, you may need a little more or a little less
2 tablespoons butter, melted

• 
  
• INSTRUCTIONS

• Dissolve the sugar in the warm water and milk in a large bowl, then whisk in yeast.
• Rest 5 to 10 minutes, or until the yeast mixture gets foamy.
• Stir in 1 cup of the flour, then whisk in salt and oil.
• Add remaining flour, one cup at a time, until the dough pulls away from the bowl.

Hand kneading

• If you are hand kneading mix in the flour until you have a sticky dough, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic - adding flour as needed.

Rising and shaping

• Oil a large bowl and place the ball of dough in it.
• Oil the top of the dough and then cover with a damp cloth.
• Allow it to rise until it has doubled in bulk. This will take about an hour.
• Punch the dough down.
• Knead for three minutes or so and divide in half.
• Let rest for five minutes.
• Shape into loaves and then place in greased 9x5-inch loaf pans.
• Brush the tops with the melted butter.
• Let rise for 30 minutes, or until the dough has risen an inch or so above the pans.
• Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes, or until loaves sound hollow when tapped.  ***Check at 25

For a soft crust

• For a soft crust butter the tops and place a clean tea towel over the baked loaves as soon as you take them out of the oven. Let them cool for about 5 minutes and then take them out of the pans to finish cooling, covering them back up with the tea towel.

IF USING INSTANT YEAST: just add in with dry ingredients, no need to "proof." Rising time will be less, by 15-20 minutes

DOUGH ENHANCERS: options to help dough rise higher: 2 Tbsp powdered milk, added in with the flour, or 1/4 tsp powdered ginger added with the water when proofing the yeast

OTHER USES: Dough can be rolled out into a rectangle and turned into cinnamon rolls, flattened into pizza crust, dinner rolls, etc. Try folding in crushed pineapple for Hawaiian rolls, or cinnamon for cinnamon swirl bread... 

Credits to https://www.restlesschipotle.com/amish-white-bread/ for the recipe