Italian Herb Bread

My daughter and I made a new bread this weekend, and thought I would share it with you. It comes from my sister-in-law, Denise. You can make this using your favorite bread recipe. If you don't have one here is mine that makes 4 loaves! Some to keep, some to freeze, some to give away!

• 4 Cups of warm water



• 3 Tablespoons of yeast



• 1/2 Cup of sugar



• 2 teaspoons of salt



• 4 Tablespoons oil



• 5+ cups of flour



• 5 Tablespoons of Italian Seasoning


• 3 cloves of fresh garlic, crushed

If you are using your own bread recipe, and it makes only 2 loaves, just add 8 teaspoons of seasoning and 2 cloves of garlic. Add the herbs and garlic before you add your flour. If you use my recipe, this is how I do it.

Add the yeast to the warm water and sprinkle the sugar right over the top. Let this sit till the yeast has "poofed" ( This is what my mom calls it! ) Once the yeast has "poofed", add the oil, salt, herbs, and fresh crushed garlic. Then add 5+ cups of flour. The dough should have an"elastic" look to it. I take it out of my kitchen aid and knead it on a floured surface till smooth.

Then I oil a big bowl and put the dough in it, cover with a towel, and let it rise in a warm place. This will make 4 loaves of bread, so make sure your bowl is big enough to hold all this dough when it starts to rise.

Once the dough rises, punch it down, knead it , and make 4 loaves. I grease my pans with melted butter, because I think it makes a difference in taste. Let rise about 30 min or so.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 40-45 min. My bread pans are clear glass, so I look on the bottom of the pan for a golden color, then I know it is done! :)

This is the end result! My sister-in -law says the only thing this bread is not good for is peanut butter and jelly!! We had this toasted for breakfast the next morning with some fresh eggs. It was delicious!!

Enjoy!!