Recipe: Make-Your-Own Bread Mix

recipelink.com Chat Room Recipe Swap - 2000-11-29
From: Paddy.Mtl.

Make-Your-Own Bread Mix
from The Great Canadian Bread Book, by Janice Murray Gill
NOT FOR BREAD MACHINES

5 lb. bag all-purpose flour
l cup powdered skim milk
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons salt
7 tablespoons shortening
3 packages, or tablespoons, "Rapidmix" dried yeast

Empty flour bag into a large mixing bowl. Cut in the shortening with a pastry blender until it resembles coarse meal. Add the milk powder, salt, and sugar, stirring well to be sure all ingredients are evenly distributed. Last of all, stir in the yeast, mixing well. Store the mix in an airtight container in a cool place. DO NOT FREEZE. When ready to make bread, measure out 6 cups of the mix and stir into 2 cups of warm water. Beat well until mixture is too stiff to bear and cleans the sides of the bowl. Turn out and knead until smooth adding a little more mix if necessary to prevent the dough from sticking. When dough is smooth and satiny, place in a greased bowl; cover and let rise till double in bulk. Punch down, turn out and knead a few turns. Divide in two, shape into loaves, put in well-greased loaf pans, and let rise till double. Bake in 375 degree oven for 35-40 minutes. Remove from pans and cool on racks.
Note: If you can't get "Rapidmix" yeast, make the mix without yeast. When the time comes to make the bread, one package, or tablespoon, of active dry yeast may be proofed in the lukewarm water with a pinch of sugar before stirring in the mix.