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2 Loaves:
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup lard or shortening
1 teaspoon salt
1¾ cups scalded milk
½ cup warm water (105-115 degrees)
1 yeast cake
About 6 cups of flour
4 Loaves:
½ cup sugar
½ cup lard or shortening
2 teaspoons salt
3½ cups scalded milk
½ cup warm water (105-115 degrees)
2 yeast cakes
About 12 cups of flour
Lucy's Note: I still associate the smell of baking bread with my grandmother's kitchen - as do both of my sons. She baked her own bread until she died - at age 94.
Crumble the yeast cake(s) or sprinkle the dry yeast into ½ cup warm water. Put sugar, salt and shortening into a bowl, add the scalded milk and mix. When lukewarm add the yeast mixture and flour (reserving ½ cup for flouring the board), mixing until the dough clears the sides of the bowl and forms a soft dough. Sprinkle the remaining ½ cup of flour onto your board and turn out the dough. Knead for at least 10 minutes or until dough is elastic, and does not stick. Place in a greased bowl, turning to coat the dough and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place until double in size, about 1 hour. Degas the dough and let rise again, about ½ hour. Form into loaves and put in greased pans. Let rise until double again. Bake at 375 degrees for about 50 minutes.
Lucy's Note: The liquid can be a mixture of potato water and/or scalded sweet or sour milk. Potato water is simply water left from boiling potatoes - or blend any form of leftover potatoes in water. It gives the bread a nice consistency.
Joanna's Note: If you use fresh yeast cakes the water temperature will need to be about 80-85 degrees. Also, if you are using dry yeast you may store it in your freezer to help keep it fresh. The amount of flour used in the recipe may vary depending on which flour you use and how it absorbs the liquid. I used unbleached all-purpose flour.
