Sunday, January 30, 2022

Grandma’s Homemade Bread


I visited Aunt Zina on West Pine River Road while on leave from the Air Force.  During that visit, she was making homemade bread.  I knew she made it the same way her mother, my Grandma Weiss, did.  I asked her to teach me.  She agreed, and said to watch while she worked.  I got a piece of paper and started to write.  Twelve cups of flour for six loaves.  Put some sugar in the center.
 
Dale:  How much sugar?  
Aunt Zina:  I don’t know.  This much, showing her cupped hand.  Except for the flour, we never measured ingredients.  That’s the way my mother taught us.

I asked her to help me estimate, because I’ll never remember—that’s why I’m writing it all down.  Aunt Zina slowed downed to help me get it all down on paper.  The house filled with the smell of baked bread.  It was delicious—it tasted just the way it did at Grandma Weiss’s house when I was a boy.  Here’s the recipe.

Aunt Zina’s Homemade Bread—Six Loaves

1.    Put 12 cups Flour in a large mixing bowl
2.    Add in center: 

•    ¼ cup Sugar
•    2 or 3 tbsp Salt
•    ¾ cup Oil or melted Crisco
•    2 quarts Water and Powdered Milk
•    3 packs Dry Yeast

3.    Beat with mixer
4.    Let rise in bowl about one hour at 85 Deg F
5.    Add 8 cups more flour, or more as necessary.
6.    Knead at least 10-15 minutes (Add oil to bowl)
7.    Let rise in bowl about 1 hour
8.    Divide into Loaves (6) and place in pans
9.    Cover pans and let rise about 1 hour
10.    Bake at 375 Deg F for 60 minutes
11.    Butter crust an let cool for 3 or 4 hours
12.    Enjoy it!

The next day, when my Mom Doris was at work, I bought a large stoneware mixing bowl (like the one shown in the photo), and I baked six loaves of bread. My brother Clyde was there to enjoy this project. He helped by neatly printing the recipe in color. When Mom got home, she wasn’t completely delighted. The bowl (I) left some scratches on her formica-topped kitchen table.  She always took great care of her things, so she was very disappointed. I explained that I got so excited with the baking process that I didn’t think to put something under the bowl to protect the table. I apologized, and she forgave me; but, it’s like getting the first scratch in your new car. It takes a while to get over.

Saturday, December 19, 2015

My Mom Forgot Something Every Year on Christmas Eve


It was Christmas Eve and it was lightly snowing, as all eight of us got in the gray two-door 1950 Chevy model 1552 to go to church—five children on the back seat.  Mom had just closed her door, when she remembered that she forgot to do something and had to go back inside.  Okay.  All set.  The church was full, with people standing in the back.  Two giant trees, standing left and right of the altar, were beautifully decorated.  Each had a hundred fully-packed brown paper bags underneath its branches.  Adult and children’s choir, with Mr Raedeke playing the organ.  Away in a Manger”, “Hark the Herald Angels Sing”, “Silent Night, Holy Night”, “Ihr Kinderlein Kommet”, “Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht”, “O Tannenbaum”,  At the end of the service, all children who could walk were invited to come forward to collect their brown paper bag full of treats—smallest first.  It was so cute to see the little ones proudly returning to their parents with their heavy present that they could barely carry.  It contained mostly peanuts in their shells, an apple and an orange, and some candy.  Every child got a gift on Christmas.  After a wonderful service at St John’s we headed home with great expectation.  Before we left for church, there were no presents under our handsomely-decorated tree, so we didn’t know if we were going to get anything more than peanuts this year.  As soon as Dad stopped the car in the driveway, we rushed inside.  Yay!  He was here!  He was here!  Santa Claus had once again magically brought us gifts.  As I look back, I think my Mom forgot something every year on Christmas Eve, but we fell for it every time. old pics (24)