• a mixing bowl
• a wooden spoon
• measuring spoons
• a measuring cup
• a loaf pan of about 8" x 4" (20 cm x 5 cm) - greased if metal or glass, dry if silicon. Substitute standard sizes with four mini-loaf pans. A baking sheet is a safe and handy option on which to bake mini-loaves
• foil (to cover the loaf during the final stage of baking)

• 1 cup warm water
• 1 ½ tsp yeast
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tbs oil
• 3 to 4 cups flour

» Best of Basic Utility White Bread recipes ever «

Method I (mixing):

1. Sprinkle yeast onto warm water and let sit a few minutes until it begins to foam.
2. Add salt, sugar and oil and mix vigorously.
3. Add one cup flour and beat 100 strong strokes with a wooden spoon.
4. Add 1 additional cup of flour and work it in then work in 1/2 cup at a time until the stickyness is gone from the dough (add only 1/4 cup at a time as you come near the end - working the dough by hand once it becomes too hard to work with the spoon).
5. Knead the dough for about 7 minutes - until it feels silky-smooth.
6. Form the dough into a flat ball and lightly rub a thin coat of oil over the surface of the dough. Then return the dough to the mixing bowl and cover it.
7. Put the bowl in a warm, draft-free place (we use the oven with the oven light on) and let it rise for 70 minutes (or until the dough has doubled in bulk).

1. Turn dough out onto your (lightly floured) work surface. Press the bubbles out of the dough - flattening it into an oval shape. Cover it with a dish towel and let it rest for about 5 minutes.
2. Knead and shape the dough and place it in the loaf pan.
3. Cover the loaf with a piece of parchment paper (or wax paper although it sticks a little more) and let rise in a warm, draft-free place for 50 minutes or until double in bulk.

1. Preheat the oven to:
         if metal - 475ºF (246ºC)
         if glass or silicon - 455ºF (234ºC)
2. Put loaf in middle of hot oven and bake for 13 minutes.
3. after 13 minutes, lower the temperature of the oven to:
         if metal - 450ºF (232ºC)
         if glass or silicon - 430ºF (221ºC)
   and bake for 10 minutes.
4. After 10 minutes, cover loaf loosely with a piece of tin foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes.
5. Tap test (tap the bottom of the loaf) to check for doneness. If tapping the bottom of the loaf yields a hollow sound the loaf is cooked. Otherwise, return the loaf to the oven for just a few minutes more.
6. When cooked, move to a wire rack to cool.