It may be May, but the dreary weather has my family craving comfort food. Are you? Recently I’ve been baking a lot of bread.
Two nights ago, while gushing about our amazing “local” dinner, I mentioned that my son loves it when I bake bread. He has even renamed one particular recipe “Mom’s world famous homemade bread”.
It took me a while to figure out how to bake the perfect loaf of bread. Just ask my mother-in-law, Lydia. She bakes amazing bread. Over the years she has shared her top secret recipes and kindly offered words of encouragement when I’ve proudly served dough-bricks. Now I get it right. The recipe I’m about to share is one I found in an ancient Better Homes and Gardens cook book. It’s super easy and a hit in our house. I know that for a fact because I can never keep a loaf for more than a day! It could be that the guys (one a builder, one a pre-teen, one a busy 6-year-old) are always hungry! Plus, it’s good. Really good.
Mom’s World Famous Homemade Bread aka Egg Bread
- 5 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 and 1/3 cups milk
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 3 tablespoons butter or margarine
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Two eggs
- 1 package active dry yeast
Don’t ask me how to make this from scratch. I cheat. I use a bread maker to mix the dough. Basically I put the wet ingredients in first, then add the flour, then add the yeast. Then I push the button. 2 hours later I shape the dough into two loaves, let them rise until they’ve doubled in size, and if I remember correctly, I bake them at 375°F for about 45 minutes. Don’t quote me on the baking time. I guess based on the colour of the crust. You get the idea!
There’s nothing quite like the smell of baking bread to lift everyone’s mood on a dull, grey day. Even better: sinking your teeth into a slice of fluffy egg bread, warm out of the oven, smothered in butter. Hungry?
