Nothing goes better with homemade soups and stews than a freshly baked loaf of bread. I strayed from my tried-and-true bread recipe to try this classic white bread recipe from Cooking Light. This was super easy and I had all the ingredients on hand. The bread was light and fluffy and the crust baked up to a perfect crunch. This bread will definitely make several more appearances in our home.

Homemade White Bread
makes 1 loaf

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 cups warm skim milk (100 – 110°F)
2 tablespoons butter, melted
4 1/2 cups flour, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
Cooking spray

1. Dissolve yeast and sugar in milk in a mixing large bowl. Let stand 5 minutes or until foamy. Stir in butter. 
2. Add 4 cups flour and salt to yeast mixture and stir until blended. Turn dough out onto a well floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic about 10 minutes. If dough is sticky, add remaining 1/2 cup flour a little at a time until dough is easy to handle.
3. Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
4. Punch dough down and let rest for 5 minutes. Roll into a 14×7 inch rectangle on a well-floured surface. Roll up rectangle tightly, starting from the short edge. Pinch seam ends to seal. Place loaf seam-side down in a 9×5 inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Cover with damp cloth and let rise 1 hour or until doubled in size.
5. Preheat oven to 350°F.
6. Bake for 45 minutes or until loaf is browned and sounds hollow when tapped. Remove bread from pan and let cool on wire rack.