Honey Bunch Bread

Ingredients

• 2 3/4 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 1/2 cup honey
• 2 tablespoons active dry yeast
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 6 cups all-purpose flour, or more as needed

Directions

Stir warm water and honey together in a bowl until honey dissolves. Sprinkle yeast over water mixture and let stand until the yeast softens and begins to form a creamy foam, about 5 minutes.

Stir oil and salt into yeast mixture. Mix 3 cups of flour into yeast mixture until no dry spots remain. Stir in remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition, until dough is no longer sticky and pulls together. Continue kneading for 5 minutes in a stand mixer or 10 minutes by hand.

Place dough in a large, lightly-oiled bowl and turn to coat. Cover bowl with a towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

Punch down dough and let rise again until doubled in volume, about 45 minutes.

Grease three 9×5-inch loaf pans.

Punch down dough and turn onto a lightly floured surface. Form dough into 3 loaves and place into prepared pans. Cover loaves with a damp cloth and let rise until dough is about 1 inch above the sides of the loaf pans, about 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Bake in preheated oven until tops are golden brown and the bottoms of loaves sound hollow when tapped, about 40 minutes. Remove loaves from pans and transfer to a cooling rack.