In a large mixing bowl, mix together all ingredients except flour. Allow a few minutes for the yeast to get bubbly.
Stir in 3 cups of flour and mix well. Using a heavy cooking spoon, continue stirring in more flour until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and is just slightly sticky.
Oil your hands, and turn dough onto a floured board or countertop. Knead for 10 minutes, adding more flour as needed to prevent sticking. Dough will become elastic and spring back when pressed with a finger.
Hint: You can further test if the dough is ready by taking a golfball sized piece, (Oil your hands well first!) smash it flat like a hamburger patty, and stretch it evenly until it's almost transparant. If dough tears very easily while stretching, it needs a bit more kneading.
Divide dough in half and place each half into a large, oiled mixing bowl. (Put about a tablespoon of oil into each bowl.) Flip to coat all sides. Place in a warm place and cover with a thin towel. Let rise for 1 hour. Punch down, cover and let rise for another hour.
Then pre-heat oven to it's lowest setting. Punch dough down, form into loaves, and place into greased bread pans. Place pans into oven and turn it OFF. Allow to rise for 30 minutes, turn oven on to 350 degrees and bake for about 20 minutes. (No need to pre-heat.) When bread is finished, remove from oven, brush tops with milk or melted butter to keep crust soft. Allow to cool on wire racks until you can't stand it any longer, then enjoy!
Makes 6 loaves.
