English Muffin Bread

I love homemade bread. The problem is that I really don't like making homemade bread.  Usually I solve this problem by just enjoying my mom or my sister Christy's homemade bread. They make some delicious ones!  (Seriously - you should check my sister's blog for some ideas).  But, I had a friend who had recently had a baby and instead of bringing a meal, I wanted to bring some muffins, scones and breads to put in her freezer so she'd have something easy to grab for breakfast.  (When I had Riley, people brought us dinners, which is a huge help and I was so thankful, but I never knew what to do for breakfast when I didn't have time/was too tired/decided to shower instead of eat/etc. and found myself eating some strange things for breakfast.) I felt bad trying to get my mom or sister to make some breads for me to bring my friend so I decided to just suck it up and do it myself. 

The part of bread making that I don't like is all the steps. I get a little intimidated using yeast. I don't like waiting for dough to rise. I get confused with where I am in the process. Thankfully I found this recipe for English Muffin Bread. It was super easy, cheap to make, only used one bowl and made 4 loaves. 

I found the recipe on The One Good Thing by Jillee Blog.  If you want to see pictures of what it looks like, head on over to her blog. Be sure to grease the pans very well and don't cut it until it's completely cooled! This made 4 loaves. It has all the nooks and crannys that English muffins do (hence the name) and tastes best toasted.  It was good with jam or jelly but I liked it best with butter and honey.  Here is the recipe...

5 1/2 cups warm water
3 packages RAPID RISE yeast
(Update: You can use regular yeast, but you will need to let is rise TWICE. Once in the bowl, til it reaches the top…and then again in the pans, til it reaches the top. With the RAPID RISE you only need to let it rise once in the pans.)
2 Tablespoons salt
3 Tablespoons sugar
11 cups all purpose flour (you can use bread flour as well)

Mix altogether, then spoon into (4) well greased loaf pans.  Let rise in pans until dough reaches the top of the pans, and bake in 350 degree oven for 45 minutes or until golden brown. 

10 minutes before done, brush with melted butter. Makes 4 loaves. Bread will be moist at first. Allow to COOL COMPLETELY before cutting. Makes terrific toast.

 Enjoy!