I DID IT!!!

Yahoooooo!!!! I did it! I have never made homemade bread before and today I DID! I got the recipe from a darling friend. I called her this morning to get some more tips on the whole bread making thing. Well, she gave me some more tips and off I went on my little adventure. It was very fun, plus I kept being surprised every time I looked to see how it was rising. It doubled and double and doubled again. The best part was TASTING it. It is so yummy! Thanks for the recipe Alys.

Here is a picture of my first ever homemade bread. Below is the recipe if you want to try it out. MMM MMM GOOD!


Grandma's Homemade Bread
from the kitchen of M. Cloward

1) Scald
2 cups milk
1/4 cup shortening

ADD TO MILK AND SHORTENING:
4 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar

2) Let mixture cool.

3) Mix together in a medium bowl
1 tsp sugar
2 packages yeast
1 cup warm water

4) Set aside for 10 minutes to activate yeast.

5) Mix milk mixture and yeast mixture in a large bowl.

6) Add 2 cups of flour and beat mixture 200 strokes.

7) Slowly add 4 to 5 cups of flour, mixing after each new addition.

8) Let dough rest 10 minutes

9) Knead dough for 10 minutes

10) Let dough double in size

11) Punch down and let it rise again.

12) Punch all the air out and form two loaves of bread. Place the loaves into buttered bread pans. If desired, butter the tops of loaves. Let the dough rise again.

13) Bake at 400 for about 25 minutes.

Here are some of Alyssa's tips:
1) To speed up step 2, you can put the bowl on ice
2) In step 7, I add closer to 4 cups of flour
3) You can always use your Kitchenaid dough hook to do the kneading for you. . .