Yeast Bread

Recipe from Jonna Veach

½  C warm water
3 pkg active dry yeast
1 ½ C soft shortening (vegetable oil)
1 C sugar
2 tsp salt
7 to 7 ½  C flour
3 eggs

In bowl, dissolve yeast in water.  Put sugar in bowl with yeast and water.  Let this sit a few minutes.

Separately, in a sauce pan, put milk and shortening (oil).  Warm on medium heat until you can put your finger in the pot and can’t keep it long, but it’s not too hot that you can’t keep your finger in.  Add milk and shortening to yeast, sugar and water.  Immediately add eggs.  Add salt.  Add flour according to feel – add about 1/2 cup at a time and stir until well mixed.  When it gets so thick that you can’t sir the mixture with a fork or spoon anymore, dump the dough onto a floured hard surface like a table or counter.  Make sure you generously flour the surface and your hands.  Then add more flour and kneed the flour in.

When the dough is about the consistency of Play Doh, form the dough into one large ball and place in a lightly greased and floured large bowl.  Cover with a clean towel and leave in a warm room.  Let the dough rise for 1 1/2 hour.  Punch the dough, turn it over, and then re-cover and let the dough rise for at least another hour.

Take about 1/3 of the dough with floured hands and put on a clean, floured counter/table.  Roll the dough out and shape as desired (this bread works very well in smaller rolls rather than loaves).  Bake until golden brown at 350ºF (about 20 minutes).