Grandma Bread...

Yes, you read right.

Not "Grandma's Bread", but "Grandma Bread."
No, it's not my grandmother's nickname (but it may as well be!)
It's what my cousins, brothers and I call the notorious bread my grandmother bakes.
She's been making it for well over 40 years now...for her 5 daughters, for her 7 grandchildren...and now I  (we!) are making it for W and the playschool children:)
It's known as "Grandma bread" in our family; it's best when eaten the same day it was baked. It makes delicious french toast and nice, thick sandwich bread, too. I've tweaked the recipe a little bit, but the texture and taste is pretty much right on. Friends keep giving me recipes for other breads to try, but I stay true to this one. I don't know why....I suppose because it's a part of me!

 Every Thursday is bread day here at playschool. The children arrive in the morning to find a piece of bread dough at their seat with a sprinkling of flour. They get right to work using butter knives, cookie cutters, and rolling pins.

Recipe for "Grandma Bread"

1 package of live active yeast (about 1 tsp.)

2 tbs olive oil

1 c. milk

1 1/3 c. warm water

2 tsp honey (or sugar)

1/4 tsp salt

Combine all ingredients and mix. 

Then add...

6-6.5 c. flour, 2 cups at a time, mixing and scraping down the bowl in between.

Continue mixing in flour until the dough forms a ball and no longer feels sticky to the touch. Stickiness means you'll need more flour!

I use white flour for this recipe. Whole wheat yields a very tough and not too tasty loaf. I occasionally use white whole wheat flour, but white suits this recipe best, I think. I've been thinking about adding in ground grains, like flaxseed or the like...this a reminder that I really, really desire to find a quality grain grinder! (recommendations?)

Knead for 15 minutes or so. (It's good, hard work!) Place ball of dough into a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with a towel to rise for 90 minutes. I prepare the dough for playschool the night before. I place the bowl in the refrigerator overnight and consider this the first rise.

After 90 minutes (or overnight) punch down and shape into loaves or small balls (for adorable and delicious buns). This is the time where I give the dough to the children to play with. I work slowly on rolling out the buns as they play while the oven  is preheating to 365 degrees.

Allow the buns or loaves to rise for another 20-30 minutes. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Serve very warm with honey and butter for best results:)
I serve ours literally right out of the oven...

The children help prepare our snack table by bringing over utensils, cups, bowls. They know just what to do as I give them each a task after they are done washing their hands with lavender water. Everything sits at the edge of the counter for easy access. It is very special to see how our snack table comes together so beautifully with the help of every hand, big and small. The children take great pride in this.

 

We light our mealtime candle and sing blessings...as W continues to make silly faces and  almost insane animal noises.  The older children are now learning that he tends to stop if they don't laugh or pay any attention to these behaviors. It's working....slowly.

E

By now, all mouths are watering, including mine. Each bun gets split almost in half ("like a butterfly!") and receives a liberal amount of room temperature butter (I'm loving this butter crock for keeping butter soft and fresh!) and honey (my favorite honeypot here)

 

We love our bread, we love our butter,

but most of all, we love each other!

Happy Bread Baking!


ps- Awesome giveaway coming soon:)
Visit Chagrin Valley Soaps and Crafts for a hint...