Posted by Suzanne McMinn on December 19, 2007 @ 9:45 am
Tags: yeast breads
Breads, The Farmhouse Table
Deliciously simple and simply delicious, Grandmother Bread is a near-daily staple in our farmhouse. This is a heritage recipe, tested by time and the hands of mothers and grandmothers for over a hundred years. This secret family recipe is different from many standard white bread recipes in that it contains no milk or oil, and its very simplicity produces a bread of light but sturdy texture that yields loaves for perfectly sliced sandwich bread (the best sandwich bread you’ll ever taste! also makes excellent french toast!), plus the same dough can be used to create dinner rolls, cinnamon-swirl loaves, sweet rolls, crispies, and apple-streudel ladder loaf.
Read all about the family history behind this bread recipe here.
Never baked homemade bread before? Learn how to make bread here.
How to make Grandmother Bread:
2 1/2 cups very warm water (sometimes I use 3 cups to make larger loaves!)
1 package yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup sugar
5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
In a large bowl, combine water, yeast, sugar, and salt. Let sit five minutes. Stir in first three cups of flour with a heavy spoon. Add the next cup of flour a little at a time as needed, stirring until dough becomes too stiff to continue stirring easily. Add a little more flour and begin kneading. The 5 1/2 cups flour is approximate-your mileage may vary! Continue adding flour and kneading until the dough is smooth and elastic. Let dough rise in a greased, covered bowl until doubled. (Usually, about an hour.) Uncover bowl; sprinkle in a little more flour and knead briefly before dividing in half. With floured hands, shape dough into loaves and place in two greased loaf pans. Tear off two pieces of plastic wrap and grease with oil spray (to prevent it from sticking to the loaves as they rise) and cover loaf pans. Let rise till loaves are tall and beautiful! (About an hour, depending on the temperature in your kitchen.)
Bake for 25 minutes in a preheated 350-degree oven. Makes two loaves. Recipe can be cut in half or doubled.
Also try Whole Grain Grandmother Bread and find out How to Make Homemade Dough Enhancer for 100% whole wheat bread!
Dinner rolls:
After the first rise, divide dough into balls and place in a large casserole dish or on a baking sheet. Let rise. Bake at 350-degrees for 15 minutes.
To make brown-and-serve rolls: Bake rolls for 8 minutes. Do not brown. Remove from oven and cool. Store in freezer-safe wrappings or containers. To serve-defrost for 15 minutes then bake at 350-degrees about 10 minutes or till browned.
Cinnamon-Swirl Bread:
After the first rise, divide dough in half. Roll each half out on a floured surface into an approx. 12-inch by 7-inch rectangle. Brush lightly with approx. 1/3 cup melted butter. Combine 1/2 cup sugar and 2 teaspoons cinnamon. (Want more cinnamony sweetness? Double the sugar-cinnamon!) Sprinkle half of the sugar-cinnamon mixture over each half. Roll up. Place seam-side down in loaf pans. Let rise and bake at 350-degrees for 25 minutes. If desired, immediately after removing baked bread from oven, drizzle tops with powdered sugar icing.
To make powdered sugar icing: Mix 1 cup powdered sugar, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, and 1 tablespoon of milk at a time until the mixture is of drizzling consistency. (If you like a lot of icing, double recipe.)
Sweet Rolls:
After the first rise, divide dough in half. Roll each half out on a floured surface into an approx. 12-inch by 7-inch rectangle. Brush lightly with approx. 1/3 cup melted butter.
For Cinnamon Rolls: Combine 1/2 cup sugar and 2 teaspoons cinnamon. Sprinkle half of the sugar-cinnamon mixture over each half. (Add raisins if desired.) Roll up from one of the long sides and seal seams. Slice dough into 12 pieces. Repeat with second half. Place rolls on large greased baking sheet or two greased round cake pans. Let rise till doubled. Bake in 350-degree oven for 20-25 minutes. Invert on serving dish. Drizzle with powdered sugar icing as described above.
For Caramel-Pecan Rolls: Combine 1/2 cup sugar and 2 teaspoons cinnamon. Sprinkle half of the sugar-cinnamon mixture over each half. Roll up from one of the long sides and seal seams. Slice dough into 12 pieces. Repeat with second half. Mix 1 cup of brown sugar, 1/2 cup butter, and 2 tablespoons light corn syrup in a small pot. Cook and stir till combined and melted together. Pour into large greased casserole dish or divide between two greased round cake pans. Sprinkle the pan(s) with 1 cup chopped pecans. Place rolls in pan(s). Let rise till doubled. Bake in 350-degree oven for 20-25 minutes. Invert on serving dish.
Cinnamon Crispies:
After the first rise, roll out each half of the dough on a floured surface into a 12-inch square. Brush on 1/4 cup melted butter. Combine 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Spread over buttered dough. Roll up each half, seal seams, and cut into 12 pieces. Place on greased baking sheets a few inches apart. Use the bottom of a glass to flatten pieces. Let rise for 30 minutes then cover the rolls with waxed paper and use a rolling pin to flatten the rolls again. Brush rolls with more melted butter. Sprinkle with more cinnamon and sugar. Bake at 400-degrees for 8-10 minutes. Serve sprinkled with powdered sugar. See full Crispies post.
Apple-Streudel Ladder Loaf:
After the first rise, divide dough in half, and roll each half into an 8-inch square on a floured surface. Brush a few tablespoons of melted butter on each square. Combine 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and 2 cups chopped, peeled apples for filling. Spread half of the filling down the middle of each square of dough. At the sides of the filling, cut the dough at 1-inch intervals. Fold dough strips over the filling to wrap. Carefully move filled loaves to greased baking sheets. Brush tops with more melted butter; sprinkle with sugar. Let rise till doubled. Bake at 350-degrees for 30 minutes. (Try peaches in this recipe or add nuts-it’s all good!) Serve warm slices with ice cream. See full Apple-Streudel Ladder Loaf post.
Favorite Farmhouse Treat: Slice original Grandmother Bread, toast, spread with butter, and top with homemade pumpkin butter. So simple. So good.
Have breakfast with Grandmother Bread! Egg Grandwiches, Stuffed French Toast, Cheesy Poached Eggs (and more!).
More recipes with Grandmother Bread:
Shrimp Toast
Garlic-Herb Croutons
Fried Bologna Sandwiches
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10:11
pm
I was looking for a very specific bread recipe. I wanted to find a bread recipe that was just like one that a friend of the family made for us every christmas.
I’m very happy to say that this recipe was perfect! I was transported to my childhood in one bite.
thank you so much for sharing your family’s recipe!
1:32
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1:03
am
I had to smile when i read about your Grandmother bread, our recipe i almost identical, except i use a little lard in my bread. I have been making my bread for 35 years now, and it turns out perfect every time. I started making it when i was 20, i am now 53 years old, 4 kids and 5 grandkids have been raised and being raised on this bread. Maybe now i have earned the right to rename mine Grandmothers Bread. Thank you for the article!
4:31
pm
I got a good chuckle from Mari’s comment regarding the bread — my thought was with four kids and five grandkids she’s not only earned the right to call her bread “Grandmother’s Bread” but she also has the right to shave two years off her age if she should so desire!! (started making the bread at 20 and been at it for 35 years; and she’s 53 years old! Bless you!)
This Grandma will also try the recipe!
12:25
am
hehe, maggie, i used to shave alot more than two years off my age, i`m taming it down a bit, starting to fit into my old skin! Hope your bread turns out wonderful!
6:34
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I had to try your Grandmother bread. I thought I would have enough flour to get by but I ran out and the dough was still a soppy mess. So I looked thru my pantry looking for a quick fix and found two packages of maple & brown sugar instant oatmeal which I threw in. It was still not enough and I’m starting to think I will have to throw it away. Then I thought maybe I could grind up some regular oatmeal in my blender. After it was a fine powder I finished the bread using my “oatmeal” flour. I have to say this was the best bread I ever made. Now I still have to make it the real way so I can see what it is supposed to taste like but I think I will not be disappointed. Thanks!
8:19
am
Hi!
I love the history behind your grandmother bread recipe, and the fact it’s tried and true! I do have a question…we’ve tried to cut out white sugar around here and I’m wondering if the bread would do well with honey as the sweetener? I don’t want to go messing up a great thing…just wondering if there’s a way to incorporate honey as the sweetener if white sugar’s not on hand?
8:26
am
Robbyn, I haven’t ever tried that, but it sounds like my next baking experiment! I’ll let you know!
1:46
pm
thank you so much for this recipe. I had been looking for a recipe like this for some time. Didn’t know the ingredients, just what it tasted like. Makes a wonderful all around bread. I halved the ingredients and baked it in my bread machine and it was STILL wonderful!
6:35
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Your bread recipes look WONDERFUL and I look forwsrd to trying them! I LOVE recipes that require little effort - or I won’t attempt them. LOL I also love it when you attach pictures of the finished product, so I can see if it looks appealing to me. Presentation is everything, I guess - well, that and the taste. LOL
7:37
pm
It is a good thing this makes 2 loaves, because it isn’t going to last long here in our house. DELISH!! And the house smells so yummy.
5:29
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Is this rapid rise yeast, in this recipe? Or just regular yeast?
6:11
pm
Can you use bread flour? I have used that to make French bread before…does it matter for this recipe?
6:45
pm
Donna, I use either rapid-rise or regular yeast. Either way, with this recipe, I give it the second rise. I don’t usually use bread flour, but you can! It doesn’t matter.
3:55
pm
Today I am in the category of “try again”. I was so excited to make Grandmother bread today, as my husband was going in later and would be here to have it hot. I goofed, big time. First of all, we have a water softener in our home, so I had to get my kitchen water warm in the microwave. I got it TOO HOT, not “very warm”. So, I decided to let it cool. It was not cooling fast enough for me…so I answered my email. When I returned, it was not “very warm” but lightly warm…I went ahead. I also heated it a tad on the oven burner, to get it a bit warmer, which it did…in the five minute time frame.
However, my bread was not rising…I went to check if I used “rapid rise” yeast…it said “active yeast”. I GUESS that is rapid rise? It didn’t matter this time, either way, because I happened to see the expiration date!!!!! I set of packets expired in ‘05 and the other set, March of ‘07. OMG!!!!! Has it been THAT long since I’ve made French bread? LOL I went ahead, hoping that if they didn’t rise, they would at least taste good. They didn’t. LOL Flat, cooked hard dough..thankfully, we had lunch out today.
But, I am going to “try again” and I can’t wait!!!
4:00
pm
Oh, I just noticed your comment above about the yeast…so yeah, it was the fact prob. that the yeast was long expired. LOL I prob. used the ‘05 packet! GEEZ A LOU!
5:42
pm
Okay, I tried Grandmother Bread again today, with my NEW yeast! (I left my comments on the “how to made bread” page). I had to try a piece just now. I could not wait on my husband. I wanted to know. It is still very lightly warm. It has a very nice texture…I would not say it is doughy, but it is LIGHTLY chewy, like a lightly chewy dinner roll. Does this mean I needed more flour OR did I knead too much? I wonder if I just needed to bake it about 5-10 more minutes. It tastes VERY good and does not appear to be doughy, like raw dough at all…just sort of chewy…does that make sense - in other words yours above looks more airy/floury…mine looks more like the French loaf sandwhich bread in the pic. Anyway, it tasted good! AND…I can’t wait to try again…knowing it’ll be better each time!
6:10
pm
Donna, it WILL be better each time! It sounds to me as if possibly it needed a little more baking time. Occasionally I have a loaf that comes out that way either because I misjudge it or I’m in too big of a hurry. It’s still good, and sometimes toasting it can be the best way to use a slightly undercooked loaf.
11:38
am
Suzanne…I will keep trying. We had it for toast this am and it was VERY good..I made the mistake yesterday of covering the bread with plastic wrap, when I THOUGHT it was cool enough…it wasn’t and steamed it…but it seemed even better this am and tasted good, for sure. It must not have been too bad because my husband has already eaten FOUR pieces! (and he is finicky! LOL) Thanks for the encouragement! I do think I hurried a bit and need to take my time, with it.
3:02
pm
I made Mormon bread this weekend…I wrote about it on another section - I think of Princess making bread. Anyway, it was NOT as good as Grandmother bread AND I would have to “try again” because it did not come out like my friend’s, who gave me the recipe. She has you mix the yeast, oil, honey and 1 and 1/4 cup of flour together with lukewarm water and then let rise and get SPONGEY…then work down and put the rest of the flour in and knead 12-15 minutes…but being as I cut the recipe in half, I only kneaded about 6. It bakes at 375 for 30…but it was not tall..and seemed it could have cooked about another five to ten.
12:01
am
Well, this recipie sounds yummy - and I, too will have to go buy new yeast as the one I have are expired and I guess that explains why my Hot Cross Buns well . . .they had the correct flavor, but they were little mounds of lead. After the screaming stopped I thought “maybe the yeast was old”. Now I’ve had that confirmed by you all. (thank you!)I guess I never had yeast around that long that it would expire!! When I was a child (in Emerson, NJ) the bakery sold “grandmother loaf”. It was a yeast bread with rasins, dried cherries, walnuts and a basic crumb topping. Anyone else familiar with something like that?
3:16
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[...] bread (8 slices if using regular storebought sandwich bread-or if using Grandmother Bread, slices may be slightly larger, use 6) 2 tablespoons minced garlic 2 tablespoons salt (or to taste) [...]