Grandpa Bread

When I was a little girl we went every summer to visit my mother's family in Utah. We would stay for the whole summer going from house to house. When we were at my grandparents house we always had the same thing for breakfast. Toast. The best toast in the world! It was homemade bread made by my Grandpa Pack. My grandmother was not well most of my life. She had several things that kept her in bed most of the day and in a lot of pain. Grandpa did most of the work both in and out of the house. His bread was soooo good. I remember sitting at the table every meal with bread. It was just what you did. Bread went with everything. To this day my parents eat bread with every meal.

I remember when I was a kid I would say, "I am hungry!" my mother would say, "Have a piece of bread and a glass of milk." Bread solved all problems.

May Grandfather's bread was even better.

So here is his recipe. It is healthy, sweet, moist and just plain yummy. Oh, and it's easy too.

When you eat it remember all the good times you had with family, sitting around the table eating a meal. Food brings us together, and bread is the glue.

Grandpa Bread

Ingredients:

3/4 cup warm water

2 TBL. Yeast

1/4 cup Oil

1/4 cup Honey

1 TBL. Salt

1 cup Applesauce

3/4 cup Hot water

3 cups Whole Wheat Flour

3 cups White Flour

• In a bowl put warm water. Warm to the touch but not hot, like a baby bottle temperature. Add your yeast and a pinch of sugar, allow to proof (get bubbly).
• In your mixer put Oil, Honey, Salt, Applesauce and Hot water (as hot as you can get it before boiling it).
• Add 3 cups of flour one cup at a time, mixing between each.
• Add your proofed yeast mix to the mixer. Mix on low.
• Add the other 3 cups flour one cup at a time, mixing between each. Knead in mixer for about 5 minutes.
• Remove dough from mixer, roll into a ball. Place it in a greased bowl rolling it around to cover in grease. Cover and let rise in a warm place. I raise my bread in the oven. Set your oven to the lowest temperature for about 5 minutes. Turn it off and put your bowl in the oven. Let it rise till double in size. This will vary depending on your climate and elevation. Check after a half hour and then every 15 minutes or so.
• When it has doubled in size remove it from your bowl to the counter. Punch down your dough. This means you are basically going to push it down to remove air from the dough. It shrinks and is very soft.
• At this point you divide it in half and form each half into a loaf. I like to press the dough into a rectangle of sorts and then roll it up like a cinnamon roll. Pinch the seam closed and the ends together. Place in a greased bread pan, roll to cover in grease. Press the dough gently into the corners of the pan. This will help it bake better.
• Place in a warm place, I do the warm oven again, and let rise till it reaches just above the top of the pan.
• While dough is in the oven turn your oven to 350 degrees and bake for 30 minutes. You do not need to remove the bread to preheat the oven. After done you can check to make sure they are ready by tapping on the top and bottom of the loaf. If it is hollow sounding they are ready.
• Place on wire racks to cool. Wait about a half hour to cut.

TIP 1: These can be frozen. I just leave them out to defrost over night.

TIP 2: If you make this with homemade applesauce it is even better. Even cinnamon applesauce is yummy.

Enjoy!