Best Bread Ever

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups hot water
1/3 cup oil
1/3 cup sugar or honey
1 Tbsp salt
3/4 cup flour
1 1/2 Tbsp yeast
5-7 cups of flour

Mix together the water, oil, sugar/honey, and salt.  Add 3/4 cup flour and whisk together or 30 seconds.  Then, add the 1 1/2 Tbsp yeast and whisk for 30 seconds.

Add 2-3 cups of flour and mix together with a spoon.  Add the rest of the flour and mix until shaggy looking and hard to work with a spoon.  Knead in the bowl a few times and then turn the dough out onto a floured dish towel.  Knead for 7-8 minutes by hand (or 5 minutes by mixer).  The dough should be soft but not sticky.

Let rise in a clean, greased, covered bowl for about 30 minutes.  You can let it rise on the counter, or in the oven (turn oven on to 450 for less than a minute, then turn it off and put the bowl of dough inside the oven to rise).  When the dough has risen, remove from oven and heat oven to 175 degrees. 

Grease your bread pans with spray oil divide the dough.  Roll the dough into a long oblong shape.  Push out all the air bubbles.  Roll into a tight cylinder, tuck the ends under, and place it in a greased bread pan.  Repeat with remaining dough. 

Place loaves in warm oven (175 degrees) for about 1/2 hour or until the dough has risen to fill the pan. 

Turn the oven up to 350 and cook for about 30 minutes.  The bread is done when you hit the top and it sounds hollow.  If the crust gets too brown, it can be covered lightly with a piece of foil.

Turn out on a wire rack and let cool completely before cutting.  Butter the top, if desired. 

From deliacreates.blogspot.com