Homemade White Bread

This recipe came from Allrecipes.com

3 cups warm water*

3 tablespoons active dry yeast

3 teaspoons salt

4 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/2 cup white sugar

8 cups bread flour

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine warm water, yeast, salt, oil, sugar, and 4 cups flour. Mix thoroughly, and let sponge rise until doubled in size.
2. Gradually add about 4 cups flour, kneading until smooth. Place dough in a greased bowl, and turn several times to coat. Cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rise until doubled.
3. Punch down the dough, let it rest a few minutes. Divide dough into three equal parts. Shape into loaves, and place in three 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch greased bread pans. Let rise until almost doubled.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 35 to 45 minutes. The loaves may need to be covered for the last few minutes with foil to prevent excess browning.

*I added 1 cup powdered milk to the warm water.
**So no, this is not as good as Grandma Opal's, but I am quite pleased with how this bread turned out.  I love when a dough is a "good dough" which gets there by lots of kneading.  I allow my mixer to do the kneading, and it still takes about 10 minutes.  If you do it by hand I would suggest kneading it for 15 minutes.