My usual recipe uses lots of butter, milk, and eggs. This is great in the summer when the hens are laying and I'm up to my ears in eggs. My recipe also makes three loaves of bread, although I usually make one batch of rolls and two loaves.
Suzanne, from Chickens in the Road, swears by the recipe she calls Grandmother Bread. It uses no milk, eggs, or butter. In fact, this recipe call for no added fats whatsoever. Also, it only makes two loaves.
I was sorely tempted to add a little butter. Maybe just a little olive oil? Oh come on! At least let me add a little shortening! But I was a good girl, and followed the recipe even though it pained me. Pained me bad, I tell ya!
I noticed her recipe also called for 7-8 cups of flour, same as my recipe. But only two loaves. Hmmmm. Same amount, one less loaf....
Hmmmmmmmmmmmm.
Nope! I'm following the recipe this time. I swear I am!
So, into two pans. Just like she says to do.
And then, this....
Big ol' monster grandmother bread!
After it cooled, I gave it a taste. I expected that the opposite of my "rich" dough would be bland bread.
Happily, I was wrong. It's light and delightful, and very good on it's own.
Of course, everything is better with butter, and hoo boy did I finally succumb to the urge to add butter to the recipe!
Cloudy the tabby approves!Yummy, frugal, big. I like it.
This is gorgeous bread!
ReplyDeleteExcept for quick breads, I don't think I've ever baked bread that had anything other than flour, water, yeast, salt, and a little sugar. It always amazes me how such simple ingredients can produce such a wonderful thing.
I'm enjoying a piece right now for lunch.
ReplyDeleteIt's remainded light and fresh-tasting.
Goooood stuff!
Haha!
ReplyDeleteI'm actually making grandmother bread for the first time right now. Found you in her comments section. I'm only at the loaves-rising-in-the-loaf-pans state right now. I can't wait to see what happens!
I have some in the oven right now! For me, the recipe makes three loaves. Let me know what you get?
ReplyDeleteI actually made the bread earlier today, then we left for about five hours. I took the bread out of the pans when we came home a little bit ago, and I realized they weren't done! Ugh. So I put them back in the oven, out of their pans, and upside down on a baking sheet. They smell good and I'll be so pleased if it works!