If you take the time and have patience this recipe almost makes itself, which really is the idea. It may take you a few kilos of flour to master this recipe, but once you do it's a great springboard for lots of tinkering; different toppings, raisins, buns and rolls and more. 

Low Tech White Bread            Text File

5 to 6 cups of flour 1/ 1/2 cups water (Use filtered or non-chlorinated water for best results) 1/2 cup milk 2 teaspoons salt 3 tablespoons white granulated sugar 2 tablespoons oil 2 1/2 teaspoons traditional dry yeast

In a large bowl (2.5 litre or more) add water, milk, salt, sugar and oil. Mix with a wooden or plastic spoon until you feel sugar has been completely dissolved.  Sprinkle yeast on top.  Take a knife and mix yeast into liquid (you are using a knife to minimize the surface area of the mixing tool  Use a spoon and you will loose a bit of yeast.  Use a knife, it's unlikely that you will loose much)  Cover with a towel or another bowl and and let sit in on the counter or in a cold oven at room temperature (optimum 75-90 degrees) until you see a bubbly crust form on the top. More yeast = faster results Yeast is a plant.  Give it time and it will grow.    If you are in a hurry and need fast results use more yeast. If you have time on your hands or want to get more out of your ingredients use less yeast and more time; it works out to the same.  It can also make your jar of yeast last 5 times as long..... 1/2 teaspoon of yeast and leave overnight 2 1/2 teaspoons of yeast and leave for 1 hour

To the liquid mix in 2 cups of flour with a plastic or wooden spoon.  Mix well and try to remove any lumps and clumps.  This mixture will then start to have the consistency of glue, or very sticky, almost dry paint.  

Add another cup of flour and mix for another minute or so, until dough starts to thicken.  What you are trying to achieve at this point is the following:  The dough wants to get to the point so that when you pour it out of the bowl it comes out easily, all in one blob and not stick to the bowl.

If you have added the 2nd bit of flour and it's not coming away from the bowl easily, just add a bit more flour, say 4 tablespoons at a time, until it falls easily from the bowl onto the counter.  Empty the dough onto the counter and sprinkle the top with another 1/2 cup of flour.  Grease your hands and gently knead the dough by rolling it forward, pushing down with the palm of your hand, end over end, slowly working in another 2 cups of flour. Knead for about 5-8 minutes or until most of the flour is added to the dough ( incorporated) and it looks smooth. Roll into a ball and let sit on the counter for about 10 minutes (usually enough time for you to clean and grease the bowl). 

Cover this bowl with another bowl and let it sit for about 2 -3 hours or until it grows to about 3 times original size.

Don't have a huge bowl?  No problem, just cover one with another.  This provides a convenient and easy to use "hothouse" for your bread.  It's also an easy visual indicator so you know when to move to the next step.

You can tell if the loaf is done by tapping on the top and listening for a hollow sound.  Don't undercook or the bread will be wet; Overcook and it will dry out quickly.

IMPORTANT: When your remove the bread from the oven immediately remove from bake pans and place on a cooling rack OR simply remove from pan and turn on their sides. This way the heat from the bottom of the loaf is dispersed quickly and you loaf retains it's loft.  Let cool and serve or place in a large ziplock bag to retain moisture.  You won't be able to restrain yourself the first couple of times, but the loaf really should be cool before being sliced, otherwise the heat dissipates unnaturally, leaving a hole in the center and a crushed loaf.   But hey, warm bread out of the oven??? That's why we make 2.   The first one never lasts long  :)