**Recipe can be halved for one loaf.
In a small bowl
½ c. warm water (110 degrees)
1 tsp sugar
2 T. yeast
When risen add to large bowl (below)
In a large bowl
2 c. warm water (110 degrees)
2 tsp salt
¼ c sugar
2 T. oil
After mixing in yeast mixture, add 6 ½ c flour (bread or all-purpose) and stir into a ball. Robin Hood or King Arthur flour really makes a difference. If you have multigrain, you can use 2 ½ cups multigrain and 4 cups white. I do knead it a little while in the bowl just to get the ingredients mixed well. Remove dough, grease bowl and return ball to bowl.
Cover and set timer for 10 minutes.
When timer goes off, knock down the dough with a spoon or spatula. Do this five times.
Divide ball into 2 and let rest 10 minutes. I skip this step.
Roll one ball into rectangle to get rid of air bubbles. Roll up like a jelly roll, tuck ends and pinch bottom. (Looks like a small loaf.) Place on greased cookie sheet. You can also put in in a regular bread pan.
(For a coconut filling use butter, brown sugar and coconut. Melt butter (a little less than one stick,, ½ cup, for two loaves), then add enough brown sugar to absorb the butter, and add about the same amount of coconut as brown sugar. I use a heaping ½ cup of each and then add more until the butter is absorbed. After you roll out the dough, spread the mixture evenly on the dough and roll up. Be sure to pinch the bottom where it comes together so mixture doesn’t leak out.)
Cut diagonally across top four times.
Cover and let rise until double. I always preheat the oven before the bread finishes rising.
Bake at 400 degrees 20-25 minutes until golden brown on top. After removing each loaf from the oven, spread butter on the top to make it soft. Freezes well.