Homemade Bread

Ingredients

2 and 3/4 teaspoons of yeast
2 ½ cups lukewarm water
Lard (amount the size of an egg)
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon salt
Enough bread flour to make a soft dough (4-6 cups)

~*~     ~*~     ~*~     ~*~     ~*~     ~*~     ~*~     ~*~     ~*~     ~*~     ~*~     ~*~     ~*~      ~*~
Directions

1.  In a small bowl, dissolved the yeast in ½ cup warm water. 
2. Set aside for about 5 min 
3. In large bowl, combine the lard, sugar, salt and the remaining 2 cups of water. 
4. Add the yeast mixture and stir to combine. 
5. Add the flour, ½ cup at a time, mixing until the dough is elastic and doesn’t stick to the sides of the bowl 
6. Cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap or a damp cloth and let the dough rise until double in size, about 1 ½ hours in a warm, draft free place.
7.  Punch the dough down and form it into two loaves with your hands. 
8.  Place each half into a greased 5x9 in loaf pan. (So making 2 loaves of bread) 
9. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise again until the dough is level with the loaf pan, about an hour. 
10.  Preheat oven to 325 F Bake bread for about 45 min. 
11.  The bread will sound hollow when tapped. 
12.  After removing bread from the oven, brush with butter or margarine for a softer crust. 
13. Remove the bread from the pans and cool on a wire rack. 
14.  After completely cool, it can be stored in a sealed bag and frozen for up to 6 months. 
15. If bread is stored in a sealed plastic bag at room temperature, it should be consumed within 4 days.

This recipe was submitted by one of the FCR Forum Moderaters @MacKenzieTwin