Ruth's Buns

• 2 tsp of sugar
• 2 cups of warm water
• 2 envelopes of yeast

Disolve sugar in water - Sprinkle yeast over and let stand 10 mins (should have created foam).

Add to water mixture:

• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 2 tsp of salt
• 1/2 cup of margarine
• 1 egg

Add 6 cups of flour gradually.  Turn dough out onto floured board and knead 10 minutes.   Place in large greased bowl and cover.  Let rise 1.5 hours.  Punch down and divide into buns.  Put buns on greased pan and cover, let rise 1 hr.

Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

To make wholewheat: use 3 cups of wholewheat flour in replace of three cups of white flour.

Basic White Bread

This is a perfect 'basic' bread recipe, and an excellent recipe for beginners. It's very plain, so more advanced bakers might want to spice it up with their favourite herbs, spices, or other flavourings. The natural flavour of the bread is very mild, so it's a good support for almost any additional ingredients you may want to add.

Ingredients

2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast

3 tablespoons sugar

2 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)

3 tablespoons butter, softened

1 tablespoon salt

6 1/2 cups bread flour

Directions

1.     In a large bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Stir in butter, salt and two cups of the flour. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.

2.     Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

3.     Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into two equal pieces and form into loaves. Place the loaves into two lightly greased 9x5 inch loaf pans. Cover the loaves with a damp cloth and let rise until doubled in volume, about 40 minutes.

4.     Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).

5.     Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for about 30 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the bottom of the loaf sounds hollow when tapped.

**Note: Preheat to 425 and bake at 375 is not a typo :)
 
Source: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Traditional-White-Bread/Detail.aspx (with minor modifications)

Oatmeal Buttermilk Bread

1 1/2 tsp dry yeast

2 TBsp warm water

3/4 cup + 2 tbsp warm buttermilk

2 tbsp honey

2/3 cup rolled oats (not instant) plus extra for topping

1+1/2 cup bread flour

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp salt

2 TBsp melted butter

Method :

1. Dissolve the yeast with the water in a small bowl and leave for 10 minutes until foamy. Mix the honey with the melted butter in another bowl. Stir together the flours, the oat and salt in a mixing bowl ,then add the yeast and the honey+butter mixtures along with the buttermilk into the flours mixture, mix with a dough hook to form a ball and knead for 10-15 minutes until smooth and elastic. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl , cover and let it rise for about 1-1.5 hours or until double in volume.

2. Turn the dough out onto a working surface and knead for a minute to deflate the dough. Shape the dough into a loaf and place in a 8 1/2 inch greased loaf pan, cover and let rise for ± 45 minutes.

3. Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Cut the bread lengthwise, brush with an eggwash and sprinkle some oats over the top before baking.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, turn out on a wire rack to cool before slicing and serve.