Making Bread on Memorial Day

My family had a lovely Memorial Day weekend. It's nice when the hubby has an extra day off to spend with the kids and I. We have been keeping an eye on for sale properties in our area, checking out prices and amenities close by. We're still working on paying off debt and saving a down payment, but we want to get an idea of what locations would be ideal for our family (since we're looking for a decent piece of land for a homestead!). We ended up going for a nice country drive on Saturday and saw some nice rural towns.

We also spent the weekend doing some household cleaning. Since we do bottles for the baby (had to stop nursing her because of the chemotherapy), we have to do dishes far more often than we are naturally inclined, but we had some bigger stuff to catch up, like the crockpot and some larger pots and pans. We also had a few loads of laundry to run.

My 3 year old and I were a little bored yesterday and decided to make bread together. He enjoys when I measure out ingredients for him to dump in the bowl. I think it's good to encourage children to help in the kitchen so they will have a greater desire to cook as adults. They are more likely to try new foods if they participate in the making process.

Anyhow, I had a good time with my little helper. It was fun kneading our dough and waiting for it to rise. I think my yeast must not have been good though, because the dough didn't rise very much. The bread turned out dense, but with great flavor. I think I might switch yeast brands and try this recipe again. I also should have given a little more time for the dough to rise since I used glass loaf pans.

The recipe for the bread is pretty simple:
2 tbsp yeast + 1 tbsp sugar, then mix with 1/2 cup of warm water
In a separate bowl, mix 1.5 cups of flour with 2.5 cups of warm water, then add 1/3 cup of oil, 1/3 cup of sugar, and 1 tbsp salt.
Then add the yeast mixture. While mixing, slowly add 5-6 cups of flour.
Knead the dough for about 10 minutes, then separate in to 2 loaves in loaf pans and let it rise in a warm place (20 minutes for metal pans, and about 35 for glass).
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (F) and bake for 25 minutes (metal) or 30-35 minutes (glass).

I'm looking forward to trying the recipe again with new yeast, and the understanding that glass pans need a little more time for rising.