Homemade peach bread

I accomplished something pretty big yesterday... I made my first loaf of bread! It was a lengthy, exhausting process and I didn't get the exact results I had hoped for, but it still tastes pretty darn good considering. I was trying to replicate the peach bread that I used for my french toast last weekend, but ended up making a bread that tastes surprisingly like a Hawaiian roll...Oh well. At least I was able to utilize some of those super ripened peaches in my fridge, even if you can't taste them in the bread.

 I still ended up making french toast out of it this morning. It was pretty good. Now on to the next kitchen venture...

Homemade Bread:

• 1 (.75 oz) packet of active dry yeast
• 1 egg, room temperature
• 3/4 cup of warm milk
• 1/4 cup of white sugar
• 1/4 cup of brown sugar
• 4 Tbs butter, melted and cooled
• 2 3/4 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 4-5 ripened peaches, peeled and diced

Proof your yeast according to package directions. (I usually stir the yeast in 1/4 cup of warm water and add a tsp of sugar, then wait about 10 minutes for the volume to double/foam up. If it doubles, it means the yeast is active and ready to go.)

In a large bowl, whisk together half of the flour, salt, egg, and both sugars. Add in the proofed yeast, along with the milk and melted butter. Stir together, then add in the remaining flour along with the peaches. Mix together until the dough forms a cohesive ball. Add more flour if needed. On a flour surface, knead the ball until it becomes smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.

Place the ball in a lightly greased bowl and cover until it has doubled in size, about 1 hour. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a 12 x 8 inch rectangle. Roll the dough tightly from the short end and place it in a greased 9 x 5 inch bread pan. Cover with a damp cloth and allow the dough to rise until doubled again, another hour or so.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, once the oven has preheated, grease the top of the bread and let bake in the oven 35-45 minutes, or until the bread is golden-brown in color. Grease the top of the bread with butter again, take bread out of bread pan, and allow to cool completely on a wire rack before you slice it. Makes 1 loaf.