When I was a little girl my father was in the Air Force so every time he was transfered to some exotic location we stabilized the family by going to my grandparent's house while he got settled, then we would all pack up and move where he was.
Granner always made homemade bread and chocolate chip cookies. It is the homemade bread that brings me comfort (and inches on my waste I might add). She would bake 8 loaves every week, always kneaded by hand. The first loaf was cut open right down the middle while it was still so hot you had to hold it with a dish towel while you cut it. Any children in the house were allowed to dig out the middle of the loaf of bread, roll it in as much butter as they wanted and treasure each morsel. Granner then ate the crust. She always made us feel like she was taking the left over and giving us the best. It was not until I was an adult that I experienced the joy of a hot crust of homemade bread. She was getting the best part. But I digress.
There is no time or place in my life that fills me with more comfort, security, peace of mind and joy than the time I spent in Granner's kitchen where I learned to make bread by hand, kneading it in the large round bread pan, punching it down after the first rise, eating raw bread dough.
Granner's kitchen was red and white. It was so small, I don't know how she could stand it. The table was built in with a bench on 3 sides. If you got stuck in the back at the table and needed to get out before the meal was over, you had to crawl under the table.
The kitchen was small, the table inconvenient, but this we all knew, when we were at Granner and Gramp's house, we were loved.
Old Fashioned White Bread Recipe
3 packages yeast
3/4 C. warm water
1/2 C. sugar
2 T. salt
2 C. milk
1 C. shortening
1 1/4 C. water
2 eggs
10 -12 C. flour
Dissolve yeast in warm water with 1 T. sugar in a small bowl. Warm milk and butter in a pan until the butter melts. Add water to cool to lukewarm. Add 2 beaten eggs and salt. In a large bowl have ready 10 C. of flour. Add milk mixture and yeast. Mix well, adding enough flour to make a stiff dough. Knead the dough on a floured board about 10 minutes until smooth and satiny. Place dough in greased bowl, cover and set bowl in a warm place to rise until doubled.
After it has doubled punch it down and let it rise a second time.Divide dough into 4 pieces. Shape into loaves and place in 4 greased 9x5x3 inch bread pans. Let rise until doubled again. Place in oven to bake at 350°F. 35-40 minutes.
When bread is baked, if you tap on the top of the loaves it should sound hollow. Remove from pans immediately, brush the top with butter and cool on racks.
8 comments:
Wow, that sounds awesome! I don't think I have ever eaten freshly made bread before, sounds scrumptious!
ohhh I want to try that! I have never made bread before - my mom used to and I LOVE LOVE LOVE that smell and taste... man - I will have to try this!
Thanks for the comments on my page... a) that is also one of my favorite shirts on Raymond, thank you!
and b) how come no dining room!? :)
That is a nice, comforting childhood memory to go with that comfort food. I bake homemade bread, but as a treat, not a regular thing. I'm craving it now!
Randi: No dining room because we bought 2 acres with a very small house and it did not include a dining room. We eat at the bar in the kitchen. It seems like you always have to give up something to get something.
I gotta try that. Sounds great! I make my bread once a week but it's a sour dough bread. I like it but once and a while it would be nice to make something a little different. This sounds like something we'd like too. I'll give it a try!
Thanks for sharing it.
Dora Renee' Wilkerson
I remember when you and your Mom & sibs used to come a stay with us. And do I ever remember the homemade bread that my Mom, your Granner, used to make. It was just as you described it. I remember that the lunch I took to school was always better if the sandwiches were made with homemade bread. The kitchen was exactly as you described it. Dad, your Gramp, always sat with his back to the side with the wall. The rest of us had our backs to the windows. And, yes, you were trapped inside when you were through eating. Your ohly options were to sit ahd wait or scoot under the tagle to escape. I've seen you do that many times. Such memories. The house is gone now, but the memories will always be there. UL
thanks for sharing this memory and the recipe!!
Dear Sandi, I'm glad you send me your emails. I love this one and shared your memories of Granners kitchen and bread making and eating it hot with lots of butter..............I did a lot of that in my years, in that kitchen and in other kitchens in homes where we lived. I loved bread baking day............when I was a kid in school on bread baking days I would always come home for lunch and Mom would make the bread early enough in the a.m. that it would just be coming out of the oven just as I got home, so I could have hot bread and butter and a bowl of her yummy beans, and a serving of some kind of fruit that she had canned. Great memories and your memory page brought that all back to me. Love, Aunt pat
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