Lady Hannah MacKennon's Home-baked Bread:
Scald 1 Cup of Whole Milk in a small saucepan until little bubbles form around the edge
of the pan. Add 8 Tbs of sugar, 4 tsp of salt, and 8 Tbs of real butter to the hot milk. Turn the heat off and let the cold
butter bring the temperature of the milk down as it melts. The liquid should become lukewarm, which is about the temperature
of your wrist.
Into a big crockery mixing
bowl, measure 3 cups of lukewarm water. Sprinkle on 2 Packages of Yeast or a little over 2 Tbs of Fast Acting Yeast. The yeast will begin to dissolve and foam. Add the lukewarm milk
mixture and stir gently. Then gradually stir in about 5 cups of white flour. Mix until smooth. Keep adding a bit
more flour until the dough pulls away from the bowl and is manageable with your hands. If you prefer heartier bread,
substitute 1-2 cups of whole wheat flour for some of the white flour. All wheat flour may make your bread too tough and
dense.
Flour your wooden breadboard and
turn out the big, soft doughball onto it. Commence kneading the dough with your hands and add a bit more flour as needed
to keep it from sticking. The dough should be pliable and pudgy, smooth and elastic. After about 8 minutes of kneading, the
dough should be well mixed. Let it rest on the board and admire it.
HINT: Kneading dough is a lot like wedging clay in the pottery studio. Push the dough away from you
with the heels of your hands and pull it back over onto itself. Turn the dough 1/4 turn after a few kneads. Keep working it
back to the center so that it doesn't become a long tube. It takes a little practice, so don't be scared.
Now, wash out and dry your bread-bowl. Oil the inside of the bowl with melted butter
or cooking oil. Place your dough-ball in the bowl and turn it over so that the whole thing is well greased. Cover the bowl
with a moist, warm, clean kitchen towel and place the bowl in a warm place to rise, such as the warming shelf over a
wood cook-stove or a sunny window. The dough should start rising right away and double in bulk in about an hour. (You can
make a mental note of where the dough began and check it after 45 minutes.)
With flour on your clean fist, punch down the risen dough in the middle. It will make a thoooph sound
and begin to collapse away from the edges of the bowl. Have 4 standard size (9x5x3) bread loaf pans ready, lightly oiled,
or two giant size loaf pans with deep sides, if you prefer to make just two loaves. Divide your punched down dough
into 4 smaller portions or your 2 giant halves and place them in the bread pans. Tuck the edges under, so that the tops of
your new loaves look smooth and nice. Admire them again. You should now have doughy looking white loaves in your pans.
Place the pans in your draft free, warm place to rise. You can cover the dough with
your damp, warm kitchen towel, if you like. Let the dough rise again until double in bulk. It usually takes around 45 minutes.
If the dough is not rising, your yeast did not work properly. This is usually due to the water and/or milk liquids being either
too cold or too hot.
Bake the bread in
a pre-heated 400 degree oven for about 30 minutes. Remove when the loaves make a hollow sound when you thump or flick them
with your finger tip. Let cool just a little bit, loosen the sides if necessary, and invert them gently onto an oven
grill to cool. The bread should be golden brown. Butter the top of the crust, if you like it soft.
Share with as many friends as possible! Keep the cat off the table. & thank
the pantry fairies! Enjoy!
***Serving suggestions:
Homemade Strawberry Jam, Wildflower Honey, & Sweet Butter
