Potato Bread (AKA..."Mom! This is my FAVORITE BREAD EVER!")

With a gazillion kids, we go through A LOT of bread. Just last night, I made french toast for dinner and we went through two and a half loafs of bread. I just heard you gasp....I know!

To keep up with our fast-paced and teenage heavy household, we use both homemade bread and bread purchased from the breadstore. While I'm not a big fan of convenience foods and preservatives -- homemade is just better and better for you -- I recognize that my life is far from perfectly planned so sometimes a loaf out of the freezer is better than not having lunch :)

One of our go-to FAVORITE bread recipies is for Potato Bread. Heck, we live in Idaho...of course it would have potatoes in it. It is perfect for sandwiches and soup. But be careful. Add a little butter when it is still warm, and you will eat the entire loaf. By yourself. It's that good!

Here are a couple of hints when making bread/working with yeast:

1. Make sure your water is not too hot when you add your yeast. It will kill it.

2. I use SAF Instant yeast. It works faster than regular yeast.

3. I keep my yeast in a mason jar in the freezer. It keeps it fresh.

4. If you ever get the chance to invest in a Bosch mixer, do it! Seriously, best kitchen tool ever.

5. Preheat your oven for just a minute or two with a bowl of water in the bottom. It creates a warm, moist environment for your bread to rise in versus a counter where it can be bumped, poked at, or drafty. But just for a minute or two...you don't want it to be too hot.

These are just a few of the things I have figured out over time. Hopefully they will help you, too. Now, back to the recipe and yummy-goodness of the bread!

POTATO BREAD

Makes 4 Loaves

INGREDIENTS

5 c. flour

2/3 c. powdered milk

2/3 c. sugar

2/3 c. potato flakes

2 T. salt

2/3 c. oil

5 c. warm water

2 1/2 T. SAF Instant yeast

7-8 c. flour

INSTRUCTIONS

Put warm water, sugar, and yeast in a large mixing bowl and mix gently. Let the yeast and water sit for a few minutes until the yeast is bubbly.
Once the yeast is bubbly, place 5 cups of flour, sugar, potato flakes, salt, and oil in the bowl and mix well.
Add remaining flour until the dough cleans the side of the bowl. Knead the dough in your mixer for 3 to 4 minutes.
While it is kneading, grease a large bowl to place your bread in. And, preheat the oven for 90 seconds to create a warm environment for the bread to rise in.
Once the kneading is complete, place dough in the greased bowl and let rise until doubled. (Approximately 45 to 60 minutes)
Once the dough as risen, place it on a floured surface and divide it in to four loaves. Place in greased bread pans.
Put the dough back in the oven and let it rise for another 30 minutes or until doubled.
Bake the loaves at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and rub butter on the tops. Allow to cool on a rack.