Basic Bread

Freshly baked bread was quite common growing up Westra. Mom had a Kitchenetics mixer ... she could double this recipe (that's 14+ cups of flour!). Jen loved the mixer so much she got one when she married and it's still all she uses. Bread is pretty basic - there are websites out there that will give you lots of hints and step-by-step instructions. If you want the bread Mom made, the recipe is below.

Ingredients

2 ½  cups warm water

1  Tbls Yeast

¼  cup sugar

⅓  cup oil

1  Tbls salt

7 ½  cups flour

Combine water and yeast. Add sugar, oil, salt and flour. Mix for a couple minutes, then let the machine knead for seven or so more. Form into loaves and place in bread pans (non-stick spray recommended). Rise until double. Bake at 350° for 35 minutes.

A couple "bread" memories ...

• When Mom and Dad went to Germany, Grandma Norman was at the house to watch the kids. Grandma baked some bread. When she took the hot bread out of the oven, Scott told her that Mom always put butter on the top of the hot bread to make it taste better and to soften the crust and make it shiny. Grandma told him that wasn't really necessary. Then she turned around and there was Scott, putting butter on top of the loaves!
• Derek wrote: Mom would make homemade bread often (before Dad's celiac diagnosis brought that to a wheat-grinding halt). :) I remember coming home from school during High School (and often having a few friends with me), and Mom would bring out 2 loaves of homemade bread hot out of the oven. I recall that we wouldn't use a knife, but my buddies and I would just use our hands to break off big chunks (juggling them because they were hot and burning our hands) and we'd go through a whole loaf and a half and a stick of butter. My friends loved coming over to eat Mom's homemade bread!
• Wendy wrote: I remember the aroma of yummy homemade bread and eating big slices of it right out of the oven with melting butter and home-made strawberry jam! Now I am in the habit and make home-made bread for our family every other week!