White Bread

Since we had roast yesterday for dinner, today it's beef stew. I threw it all together in the crock pot this morning while the kids were having breakfast. I love dinners like that! So, I thought the perfect addition to stew is homemade white bread still hot from the oven. Actually, Heidi saw the stew and thought it looked disgusting; then she saw the bread baking and asked if she could just have bread for dinner. Which is basically what she did.

I don't make bread very often but I do enjoy myself when I do. This recipe comes from my Grandma Daley. My mom has told me that she would make this recipe everyday for her family and I can't really recall a time of ever going to Grandma's house without having this very same bread. I don't really think I make it as well as Grandma because it's always better at her house. Most things are that way though, don't you think. When I think of my Grandma Daley I think of an elegant lady. That's a good word for her I think -elegant. She has always been so beautiful. My mother told me that when she was young people used to mistake them for sisters. I hope that happens with me and my daughters someday. Grandma is also very kind and softspoken and I really love that about her. I love that though she's very sweet she can completely change when she's watching a football game. She will swear and yell at the game and I think it's very funny. When I make this bread I think of her and what she might have been like when she was young like me with little ones hanging on her heels while she cooked. Her life was harder than mine and I didn't have as close a relationship with her as I would have liked but I feel like in a small way I'm connecting with her through her bread. Silly as that may seem.

Today's helper was Ruben. I tried to enlist Heidi's help today but she was soon bored and ran off to play. However, Ruben climbed right up onto the counter and stayed there the entire time. He had a great time playing in the dough and flour. We got a little bit messy.

Grandma's White Bread-Geraldine Daley

Put 2 Tbs. yeast in 3/4 cups warm water. Let stand.

4 cups hot water (as hot as it will come out of the tap)

2/3 cup honey

1/2 cup canola oil

2 Tbs. salt

Stir in 5 cups of flour. Stir in yeast mixture. Add 5 more cups flour and knead adding flour until the dough is soft and smooth but not sticky (about 6 to 8 minutes). Let rise until double in size (about 45 to 60 minutes). Punch down. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface and divide in half. Let rest about 10 minutes. Shape 4 loaves and put them into bread pans and let rise until the top of the dough is at the top of the tin (about 30 minutes). Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes.