Sour Cream Bread

Although it seemed a long way off, Lent has arrived! In our household we gave up treats and my 'sacrifice' is to work harder at providing healthy meals for my family. Yes, we try to cut back on our food intake so I try to make the good calories count. Actually, I like putting in the extra time and effort at thinking of meatless meals. This recipe provides a great bread to go along with your dinner whether it is a simple pasta, a vegetable soup, or a dish of lentils. Sour Cream Bread 1 1/2 cup sour cream 4 cups all-purpose flour 2 tablespoons granulated sugar 2 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon yeast (1/4 cup poppy seeds or sesame seeds add some drama!) Place the yeast in your mixing bowl and add a tablespoon or two of cool water and mix to dissolve the yeast. Add the rest of the ingredients and either use the dough hook on your mixer and a sturdy spoon to form into a workable dough. Knead until smooth. Place in a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap and let rise about an hour until doubles in size. Knead the dough, after it has risen, and place in a vegetable-oil sprayed loaf pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until almost doubled. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake the loaf for approximately 60 minutes but keep checking after 45 minutes as it depends on your oven. When dark golden brown, set on a cooling rack for a few minutes and then release from pan to finish cooling. Remember, with any bread recipe, it could also become rolls, too! Just adjust the baking time.