Man shall not live by bread alone...

Nothing beats a warm slice of homemade bread right out of the oven topped with a pat of butter and some jam or apple butter.

I've always been a bread lover. When I was just a little girl, my favorite part of holiday meals was the homemade rolls my mom would make. Forget the turkey and pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving. Two or three rolls would fill me up just fine.

Now, I almost always make my own bread. It is much cheaper, and so much better than what a person can buy in the grocery store. Plus, it only requires a little time and effort.

I have several bread recipes that I tend to rotate through. One of them is my grandma's recipe for plain white bread. My mom talks about how my grandma made this once a week for the family when she was growing up. She always thought she was getting a treat when she went to friends' houses and got to have bread from the store.

This is a very simple and plain bread. No fancy grains, flours, seeds, or nuts here, but it is still delicious. I think it makes the most wonderful toast. (We made a bread similar to this in pastry school called "pan de mie," which translates to "toast bread.")





Here is the recipe, copied from my mom, who got it from her mom.

Grandma or Mom's White Bread

Mix 4 1/2 cups very warm water, 6 Tbsp water, 2 Tbsp salt
Add 2 packages yeast, mix well
Add 6 cups flour, beat well
Add4 Tbsp shortening
Mix in about 6-6 1/2-7 cups more flour
Knead well
Let rise till double
Repeat
Make 4 large loaves
Let rise again
Bake at 450 degrees for 30 min

I only make two loaves when I make this. I have two fairly large sized loaf pans and have found that making 3/4 of the recipe fills them well.