by Connie Williams

Created on: July 30, 2010

By the time I came along, my great grandma lived in a tiny mobile home with an even tinier kitchen. Because there was not enough cabinet space, many of her dishes, pots and pans, were stacked on the table, counters, and even along the wall. The thought of trying to cook in that small space still seems impossible to me, yet cook she did. One never visited her without being offered something to eat and it was always something wonderful; crispy fried chicken with mashed potatoes and white gravy, flaky cherry pie, or a slice of home made bread.

Because of the work involved, Grandma only made bread a few times a year. She would make it for family get togethers at Christmas and Fourth of July, and sometimes, if we were lucky, just because she had “the itch” to bake. When she said she was making bread, there was no asking what kind, because everyone knew. The smell coming from the oven was heavenly, and when the three golden brown loaves came from the oven, we could hardly wait to cut them. Occasionally, she would use the same recipe to make cinnamon or orange sweet rolls.

After what seemed like an eternity of begging, when I was thirteen, she agreed to teach me how to make it. I eagerly got pencil and paper ready to write down her instructions. That was the first hurdle. Most of Grandma's recipes were in her head, and consisted of such measurements as “a pinch” of something or “a spoon” of something else. After a little frustration, we got down a recipe that I would be able to use and share. When the kneading time came, she told me we had to “let the bread know who's the boss.”  Miraculously, a few hours later, I had produced my own loaves of bread.

In the almost 35 years since then, I've made Grandma's bread a thousand times, not only for holiday gatherings, but also for gifts, and sometimes simply because I get “the itch” myself.

Here is my version of her recipe with pinches and spoons translated into cups and teaspoons. The result is a very dense, slightly sweet, white bread.

1 ½ c milk

½ c sugar

½ cup shortening

2 tbs butter (the real thing)

½ tsp salt

2 pkgs yeast

at least 7 cups of all purpose flour.

1.Combine the first five ingredients in a 2 or 3 qt saucepan. Heat over medium heat until milk is scalded and shortenings are melted.

2. Remove from heat and cool to luke warm (about 105 degrees F) If the mixture is extremely hot, you can add a little cool water (no

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