Mom's Light Bread (Anna Parker)

Piping hot rolls from the oven.

I attempted to make this recipe, years ago, in a bread machine. As you can see it does not specify an amount of flour. Needless to say my attempt did not turn out well. Now that I am all grown up and have managed to learn to make bread from scratch I decided to take one more shot at my Great Grandmother's recipe.

What follows is the recipe, as printed, followed by my notes for the novice.

1 quart warm water
4 tbs shortening
4 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp salt
1 pkg yeast

Mix until above ingredients are smooth then add flour until you can knead it on the board.

Kneading dough on my antique breadboard.

When you can lift it up - place in greased bowl. When doubled in size, work down. Next time it is up, make out some rolls. Let rise. Third time up make out loaves and let rise.

Bake at 350 or until brown for 30 minutes.

What the recipe doesn't say:

• The water should be about 115 to 120 degrees. This allows the yeast to dissolve and melts the shortening.
• You should end up using about 10 cups of flour. It will vary so use your judgement.
• This recipe yields a large amount of dough, too much for a stand mixer. Use a really big bowl for the wet ingredients.
• Cover the dough in the greased bowl with a clean towel to let it rise.
• "Work down" simply means to punch it down to take the air out of it.
• If you want to make rolls, take them out of the dough after the second rise. Make your loaves after the third rise.

Great Grandma Parker