Self Portrait Tuesday--Comfort Food
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.
Comments
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!? :)
Thanks for sharing it.
Dora Renee' Wilkerson