Aunt Lu's White Bread, provided by Bernadette.

August 2018, Aunt Lu Menghini & Joseph Prochaska!

Bernadette says it makes 6 loaves, so she cuts in half for her 4 pans.

Irish Soda Bread, Recipe selected by Rob-2019

Rita: March 16th, 2014

To see full instructions:

https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/irish_soda_bread/

INGREDIENTS

• 4 to 4 1/2 cups flour
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 4 Tbsp butter
• 1 cup currants or raisins
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 3/4 cups buttermilk
• 
  

1 Whisk together flour, sugar, salt, baking soda: Preheat oven to 425°F. Whisk together 4 cups of flour, the sugar, salt, and baking soda into a large mixing bowl.

2 Work the butter into the flour, add currants or raisins: Using your (clean) fingers, work the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal, then add in the currants or raisins.

3 Make a well, mix in buttermilk, egg: Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Add beaten egg and buttermilk to well and mix in with a wooden spoon until dough is too stiff to stir.

4 Lightly knead dough and form dough mound: Dust hands with a little flour, then gently knead dough in the bowl just long enough to form a rough ball. If the dough is too sticky to work with, add in a little more flour. Do not over-knead!

 

Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and shape into a round loaf. Note that the dough will be a little sticky, and quite shaggy (a little like a shortcake biscuit dough).

You want to work it just enough so that the flour is just moistened and the dough just barely comes together. Shaggy is good. If you over-knead, the bread will end up tough.

5 Score with an X: Transfer dough to a large, lightly greased cast-iron skillet or a baking sheet (it will flatten out a bit in the pan or on the baking sheet).

Using a serrated knife, score top of dough about an inch and a half deep in an "X" shape. The purpose of the scoring is to help heat get into the center of the dough while it cooks.

6 Bake: Transfer to oven and bake at 425°F until bread is golden and bottom sounds hollow when tapped, about 35-45 minutes. (If you use a cast iron pan, it may take a little longer as it takes longer for the pan to heat up than a baking sheet.)

Check for doneness also by inserting a long, thin skewer into the center. If it comes out clean, it's done.

Hint 1: If the top is getting too dark while baking, tent the bread with some aluminum foil.

Hint 2: If you use a cast iron skillet to cook the bread in the oven, be very careful when you take the pan out. It's easy to forget that the handle is extremely hot. Be sure to put a pot holder over it.

7 Let cool a few minutes: Remove pan or sheet from oven, let bread sit in the pan or on the sheet for 5-10 minutes, then remove to a rack to cool briefly.

Serve bread warm, at room temperature, or sliced and toasted. Best when eaten warm and just baked.

Mom's Bread, aka: Aunt Lu's Whole Wheat Bread Recipe

Aunt Lu's Whole Wheat Bread Recipe -makes 2 large loaves or 3 small loaves

2 and  3/4 cup water               1/2 stick butter(1/4 c)

1 T salt                                    1/2 c brown sugar

1/4 c molasses                         1/4 c honey

5-6  cups white flour         2 cups whole wheat flour        2 packages yeast 

**Ruby's note: start in the morning; it takes a while for completion.

1.  Combine   water, butter, salt, brown sugar, molasses, and honey in saucepan and heat on stove until pleasantly warm - usually butter is melted.  (115-120 degrees)   If it is too hot to leave your finger in the water, it is too hot.  I use a thermometer if in doubt.

2.  While this is heating combine 3 and 1/2 cups of white flour with 2 packages of yeast in a large bowl, mixing it with electric mixer to disperse.  (Use regular, not quick rise-yeast.)

3.  When heated,  pour liquids into the flour & yeast and beat in  very well with electric mixer...it says 2 minutes, but I do not do it that long.  

4.. Add whole wheat flour (And Briess Dough enhancer if you have.)  and beat.  Then add rest of flour a little at a time until you can no longer do with your mixer.  At that point pour dough onto a floured surface and knead the rest in...enough to make a good dough that forms a ball..

5.  Using the same bowl as you mixed in, grease the bowl well and put ball of dough in to rise.  Flip over so all bread is butter.  Cover with a cloth napkin or dishtowel and put in warm place until it doubles in size which could take 1-3 hours.  Sunny windows are nice for this.

6.  When doubled, punch into the dough and it will fall.  Then pour dough back on to floured surface and divide into the separate loaves with a knife.  Cover up with towel and let set for 20 minutes.  During this time, grease your bread pans very well.

7.  At end of 20 minutes. shape each loaf and put in pans.  Set in warm area and cover until bread rises tot he size you desire.  This could take 1-2 hours or whenever it rises to your loaf size.

8.  Preheat oven to 365 degrees.  Bake 25 minutes and then change direction in oven.  Bake another 10-15 minutes and then check for brown color and knock on loaf.  It should sound kind of hollow if done.  I am always guessing at this.  You can go more by the golden brown color of the loaves.  

10.  When done, pop out loaves and set upright on cooling racks.  Take a butter wrapper or a stick of butter and go over top of loaf.  Leave until thoroughly cooled.  then bag.  You know how I do this.  I often let set one day and then slice for freezing.  Double bag for that.  

Good luck!!!!! (I hope these are what you ordered!!!!!)

Love,

Mother

Celeste's Stromboli.

1. Thaw frozen bread dough (or pizza), and let rise in sunny place for at least an hour.
2. Spread out dough on a greased pan.  
3.  Do 3 layers of the following through the center of the spread-out dough:
1. Brush with Olive Oil & Garlic: 3 Tbsp. olive oil with 5 cloves of minced garlic heated in (do this on the stove top--a few minutes on medium low--in advance).
2. Mozzarella.  
3. Salami.  *I just get this thin sliced form the deli.
4. With a pizza cutter cut 1-inch strips along the long sides of the open dough.  Fold the dough (top and bottom first; then alternating the side, 1-inch strips, to create the braided effect).
5. Coat the entire loaf with egg white.  Brush it so that it is all covered, but do not feel the need to use all of the egg white in the process.
6. Sprinkle with the following:
1. lots of Oregano
2. Garlic Salt
3. Basil
4. a little Pepper.
7. Cook at 350-375 degrees for 30-40 minutes.  *A family recipe...I usually go in the middle with 360 degrees for 35 minutes, and watch and add as needed. 
8. **Once out, I usually press the warm loaf down with a large flat surface (like a big cutting board) to make it more flat, and easier to eat!

Quick Sourdough Bread (Mom's Pick)

3 T. instant potato flakes
3/4 c. sugar
2-1/2 c. warm water, divided
1 pkg. active dry yeast
1/2 c. plus 2 T. oil, divided
1 T. salt
6-7 c. bread flour
2 T. butter, melted

1. Mix potato flakes, sugar, 1 cup warm water and yeast in a large bowl.  Cover and let stand overnight at room temp.
2. In the morning, combine 1/2 cup oil, salt, 1-1/2 cups warm water and flour; stir into the yeast mixture.
3. Cover and let dough double in bulk; punch down and divide into thirds.
4. Knead each third 6-8 times; shape into loaves, and place each in greased 8"x4" loaf pans.  Brush tops with remaining oil.
5. Let rise until double in bulk; bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.
6. Remove from oven and brush tops with melted butter.  Makes 3 loaves.

Mom's Croutons

1. Cut up old bread into crouton size.
2. Butter an old bread pan or brownie tin (by this I mean, cut in a few chunks of butter for the purpose of melting).
3. Add the crumbs.
4. Sprinkle with parsley, pepper, and garlic powder.
5. Stir and let cook @ 350 degrees.  Stir every so often until it looks all absorbed and toasted properly (10 minutes or so).

Can be stored in a Tupperware in or out of refrigerator when cooled.

Mom's Whole Wheat Bread

*Single recipe; makes 3 loaves.

5 cups white flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 packages dry yeast
2 3/4 cups water
1 Tbs salt
4 Tbs (1/2 stick) butter OR margarine
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup molasses

1. Place 3 1/2 cups white flour and yeast in a large mixing bowl.  Use electric mixer to mix, low.
2. In a large saucepan on the stove, combine water, salt, butter, brown sugar, honey, and molasses.  Gradually heat until 115-120 degrees (warm, but NOT hot).  Use candy thermometer, or when place some on wrist, "warm, but not hot" --Mom.  *Visually, the butter will have melted into the liquid.
3. Pour liquid into the flour mixture, and mix well (start low, and work way to 1 minute on medium).  
4. Once well mixed, throw in wheat flour (AND 1/2 cup "dough enhancer" if you have it), and mix until well mixed throughout.
5. Start adding the remaining flour and mix with electric mixer; once it is too tough to mix with mixer, stir, and then kneed in the rest of the flour, on a well-floured surface.  Kneed until it looks like "a good dough".
6. Grease a big bowl, and flip dough ball inside, and coat the ball with the grease in the bowl (grease with butter wrapper).  Cover with light cloth, and set in a warm area to rise UNTIL IT DOUBLES (can take 1-2 hours; depends on the day/place).
7. Once doubled, PUNCH DOWN into the dough (still in bowl), and then flip onto a floured surface.  Cut into 3 loaves (depending on pan size) on a cutting board.  Cover (right on the board) with a light cloth for 20 minutes.
8. Meanwhile: grease bread pans well, and add dough to pans after 20 minutes.  You must shape each into a loaf of bread first, and grease down all the edges.
9. Again, cover each with cloth and place in warm area.  Once it doubles, it is ready to bake.
10. Bake at 375 degrees for about 30-50 minutes (until dark brown/depends on oven).  
11. Take them out--loosen edges if necessary--and flip onto cooling wrack.  Butter over the top if you'd like, and then wait until completely cooled until bagging.

Dill Bread (similar to Grandma Gross')

After allowing frozen dough to rise, split into 10 or so mini dough chunks, and dip each chunk into:

1/2 Stick of Butter
1/4 c. Parmesan Cheese
1 tsp. Dill
1/4 tsp. Garlic Salt

Smash all pieces together back in bread pan to form new loaf, and cook according to instructions (like 350 degrees for about 30 minutes).

*To be more like Grandma/Mom, I think you add some Oregano to the mix...?

Pizza Crust (Mom's)

1 pk. yeast (or 1 Tbs.)
1 cup warm water
1 Tbs. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbs. oil
3 cups flour

1. Mix yeast and water in bowl.
2. Stir in sugar, salt, and oil; then stir in 1 1/2 cup flour.
3. Throw in rest of flour and stir.
4. Kneed into "ball". Once done, rub the surface with oil, and let rise for 45 minutes.
5. Brush bottom of pizza pan with oil, and roll out the crust; bake @ 425 degrees for 10-20 minutes (watching 1st the done-ness of the crust, and then the cheese, secondarily).

Marya's Pizza Sauce:

1. Heat about 2 Tbs. of veg. oil in the bottom of a pan.
2. Add one large can (28 oz.) diced tomatoes, drained (mostly).
3. Sprinkle salt, pepper, and sugar over the top of all of the tomatoes.
4. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a low heat and stir occasionally for at least 10 mins.

*At this point you can either let cool, or spread onto dough and cook right away.

Corn Bread, Complements Lindsay (Jones) Ortega

1 can creamed corn

1 can regular corn

1 egg,

1 stick of butter

jiffy corn muffin mix - 1 box

1 cup sour cream.

Mix everything together and bake at 350.

Sometimes I cut back on the amount of sour cream and butter; it seams like so much. It always seems to turn out the same. I just cook it until it looks like a pot pie, usually around 30 minutes.

Introduced by Lindsay Ortega, Thanksgiving 2011; Tampa.