Grampa's Homemade White Bread Recipe
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Category: |
Category: |
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Ingredients: |
Ingredients: Grampa's famous bread was prepared in his kitchen in the early days using Spruance Old Fashioned Bread Mix. He got this at Dan and Whit's. After a deep internet search I learned that Spruance went out of business many years ago. Therefore, I can't get his exact bread recipe, but since Grampa lived within 2 miles of the King Arthur Flour store in Norwich, Vermont, I will assume that in his later years, he probably switched to the following recipe:
3 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
½ cup milk, (skim, 1%, 2% or whole are all fine)
½ to ⅔ cup hot water, enough to make a soft, smooth dough* (see tips below)
¼ cup melted butter or vegetable oil
2 TBSP sugar
1¼ tsp. salt
1 packet active dry yeast dissolved in 1 TBSP warm water OR 2 tsp instant yeast
*Mix cold milk with hot tap water to make a lukewarm liquid before adding to the remainder of the ingredients.
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Directions: |
Directions:1. To make the dough: In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients and stir until the dough starts to leave the sides of the bowl. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased surface, oil your hands, and knead it for 6-8 minutes, or until it begins to become smooth and supple. Or mix and knead the dough using an electric mixer or food processor, or in a bread machine set to the dough or manual cycle.
2. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl, cover the bowl, and allow the dough to rise until puffy though not necessarily doubled in bulk, (about 1-2 hours depending on the warmth of your kitchen). If you are using a bread machine, allow the machine to complete its cycle, then leave the dough in the machine until it's doubled in bulk, perhaps an additional 30 minutes.
3. Gently deflate the dough, (punch it down as Grampa used to say), and transfer it to a lightly oiled work surface. Shape the dough into an 8" log.
4. Place the log in a lightly greased 8½ X 4½ " loaf pan, cover the pan loosely with lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow the bread to rise for about 60 minutes, until it's domed about 1" above the edge of the pan. A finger pressed into the dough should leave a mark that rebounds slowly. Towards the end of the rise, preheat your oven to 350º.
5. Bake the bread for 30-35 minutes, until it's light golden brown. Test for doneness by removing it from the pan and thumping it on the bottom, (it should sound hollow) or by measuring its interior temperature with a digital thermometer, (it should register 190º at the center of the loaf).
6. Remove the bread from the oven, and cool it on a rack before slicing. Store the bread in a plastic bag at room temperature for several days; freeze for longer storage. |
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Personal
Notes: |
Personal
Notes: We all have many memories of the amazing and deliciously yeasty smell of freshly baked bread from Grampa's kitchen. (Continued on next page).
Here are some tips for successful bread baking that Grampa would have taught us:
* Flour is like a sponge; it can absorb moisture from the atmosphere, so the amount of water you use can vary depending on the climate and season. Use the lesser amount of water in the summer, or under humid conditions; the greater amount in winter or when the climate is dry.
* To make a whole wheat version of this recipe, you can substitute no more than half of the all-purpose white flour with King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour.
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