Dear Mr. Sands, YOU ROCK!

I am in love with your basic white bread.
My children are in love with your basic white bread.
My husband is in love with your basic white bread (and told me this evening that if I said I would be baking this bread and not ever buying store bread again, he'd be ok with that).

For anyone who is reading this, TRY THIS BREAD! Even if you haven't made bread before, this bread is worth it.

It is my new favorite "sandwich" loaf. AND I didn't make any changes. NONE. (Ok, well, just a minor one.)

Walter Sands'* Basic White Bread
(copied from the King Arthur Flour 200th Anniversary Cookbook)

1 c. milk plus 1 c. hot water (should equal 2 c. warm milky water)
2 Tbsp. sugar or honey
1 Tbsp. active dry yeast (1 envelope)
2 Tbsp. softened butter or oil (I've used both butter & EVOO with good results)
5-6 cups white flour (Of course, this is where I tell you to use King Arthur Flour...hahaha)
1 Tbsp. salt

Mix all the ingredients together in a large Kitchen Aid mixer bowl adding just enough flour so it pulls away cleanly from the sides of the bowl - usually around 5 1/2 c. (If you don't have a stand mixer, don't fret. Mix everything in a large mixing bowl with a spoon. You will likely want to use your hands when the spoon mixing becomes uncomfortable. The stand mixer just makes things easier!) Turn dough out onto floured surface and knead until smooth & pliable (this dough should feel silky smooth...it really is a joy to knead!)

Grease a bowl (or your mixing bowl), place dough in and coat with oil. Allow to rise covered in a warm, draft free place until double in size (about an hour). A finger poked into the dough should leave an impression and not fill in. Knead dough again removing as many air bubbles as possible. Cut dough into halves and shape into a loaf. Place each half into a well greased loaf pan. Allow to rise again covered for about an hour. 15 mins. before you are ready to bake the bread, preheat oven to 350. Bake for about 40 mins or until tops are golden brown. Cool completely on wire rack.

*This is the bread that Frank Sands' father, Walter, President of Sands, Taylor & Wood Co., from 1941 to 1968, made faithfully once a week for years. Because of his arthritic hands, he used a bread bucket with a crank which kneaded hundreds of loaves of this fragrant bread with all its happy associations.*
Cooks Notes:
My in laws have a bread bucket and my father in law used to use it all the time to make bread. A good replacement for a Kitchen Aid stand mixer. Also - Sands, Taylor & Wood Co. is the company that distributes King Arthur Flour and they are located in Norwich, VT.

For those that want to know, the only minor change I made was to add a full cup of milk. The original recipe called for 2 c. warm water and 1/2 c. of dry milk powder with all other ingredients & measurements the same.