White Bread for Julie, and for you

Julie and I had a back and forth one day about making bread - she'd said that she was good at quick breads, but had never mastered yeast bread. I promised her a recipe, and rummaging around my mother's kitchen the other day, I found the cookbook that I was looking for: the Parsons Bread Book. It's a 1974 paperback written and designed by students from the Parsons School of Design, and it includes the first bread I ever mastered: a plain white bread, perfect for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.


I know more than I did then, and today I make the same basic bread with butter in lieu of shortening, and some whole wheat flour in place of some of the white (maybe 25%, using a light whole wheat like the King Arthur White Whole Wheat). This recipe also calls for a lot of yeast - I might cut the yeast back, but if you're a novice baker, try the recipe as is. Knead your bread on a floured countertop, and oil the bowl. And practice. The more often you make bread, the better it'll be.

Making bread is a powerful act. The seemingly inanimate yeast springs to life, the kneading is both therapeutic and contemplative, and the kitchen fills with good smells. Yes, you can go to the store and buy a loaf of bread, but making it yourself is oh so very satisfying.