Bread Memories and Bread Recipes

The Smell of bread baking in the oven brings me back to my childhood.  I would come home from school and my mom would have a table full of wonderful loaves of bread and rolls.   It was a child’s delight.  At my table, I’ll share my favorite bread memories and bread recipes.

I love hot bread out of the oven. The smell and the taste are so good, and I don’t even put butter on it. Yum! Ask anyone and they will tell you the smell is almost heavenly.  The smell brings back memories of the people I love who are now in Heaven.

Bread Memories

My mom would make at least eight loaves of bread a month. I remember her mixing it in her giant metal bowl on the kitchen stool adding a coffee cup of flour as needed. “How many cups of flour do you need to put in,” I asked. She said, “When it all comes together. I just know.”  This always amazed me.

I loved having homemade bread for my after-school snack. Homemade bread with homemade strawberry jam on top.  Sometimes I would eat two or three slices of bread after school and I did eat my supper too.

“Don’t eat too much, so you can eat supper,” my mom would say.

I’ve made plenty of sweetbreads, but loaf bread making wasn’t something I desired to do until now. 

My father-in-law and his mom, “Faith” were the bread makers in the family.  This fall my father-in-law passed away to join the other bread makers in heaven. There are no more delicious loaves of bread coming from the kitchen. I watched him make a batch or two and requested that he make it with my son.  Sad to say that never happened. 

The Bread Torch- Bread Recipes

This December I just had to make my father-in-law’s bread. At my mom in-laws house, I had her get the ingredients ready so I could make bread for the family.  The bread turned out perfect. It was as if we had Dad’s bread again. It was his recipe and the bread looked the same and smelled the same.  This was therapeutic to me to carry on the bread torch and make the family happy. 

Now I make it for my husband and myself. A recipe makes three loaves so we freeze some of the loaves or give them away. I feel accomplished and a little closer in my heart to my mom, my father-in-law, and his mom who are all in heaven.

I am now the family bread maker.  The creator of memories and good tasting memories of bread for breakfast toast, snacks, bread for soup, or a sandwich. 

History of White or Wheat Bread

 Bread is a staple food made out of flour and water and consumed all over the world. In many countries, this is served at all meals and they dip their bread in their soup, main dish, or sauce.

The bread was made with whole grains but with the development of machines it became easier to refine the grains and white flour seemed to be the standard for good bread. Today it is reversed and a good bread has more grains and a darker color than the standard manufactured soft squishy white bread or “Wonder” bread.

White or Wheat Bread

My mom always made white bread growing up, it was delicious and we didn’t complain. I grew up in the white “Wonder” bread era and my mom’s homemade bread was the best! 

Being a dietitian changed that for me.  If I was going to eat bread I was going to try and increase my fiber and nutrients by eating whole grain bread and mostly 100% whole wheat bread. When I purchase bread, I still look for bread that is 100% whole wheat.  The other 25% of the time whole grain or white is ok because I don’t eat slices of bread every day.

Making your bread 100% whole wheat can make it a bit dense and heavy.  Personally, for homemade bread, I prefer a mix of whole wheat flour and bread flour.   A healthy compromise in the bread department makes it tasty with nutrients.  

In the recipe I am sharing, I did try adding more whole wheat flour. Yes, the bread didn’t rise as much and was denser, almost like a loaf of Irish soda bread.  This was not my desire, so back to the original recipe.

Dad’s Bread Recipe

This recipe makes three loaves and frankly if you are going to take time to make bread, just make three of them and freeze the other two.  That is if they make it to the freezer.

I love incorporating Minnesota-grown cooked wild rice in this.  I usually just take some precooked wild rice out of my freezer.   Now that I moved to Virginia, I can’t find wild rice in the store, so I may have to find it canned or order it online. If you don’t have wild rice add the rolled oats instead.

• 3 TBSP Active Dry Yeast
• 4 TBSP Sugar
• 3 ¾ cup warm water
• 1 TBSP salt
• 4 TBSP oil
• 6 TBSP Wheat Germ
• 3/4 cup Rolled Oats or 3/4 cup Cooked Wild Rice
• ¼ cup Flax Seeds
• ¼ cup Sunflower Seeds
• 3 cups Whole Wheat Flour
• 6 cups Bread Flour (decrease bread flour if using rolled oats)

In a Large Bowl, mix yeast, sugar, and warm water.  Let rest a few minutes until bubbly. Add in the rest of the ingredients. Mix until it forms a ball.  If needed add more bread flour to prevent sticking.  Turn dough out on a well-floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic.   About 10 minutes.   

Place dough in a large oiled bowl and cover with a towel and place in a warm area to rise.  Let rise until doubled, about 90-120 minutes.   Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Shape dough into 3 loaves, place in an oiled pan, and let rise again about 45 min to 1 hour, or until doubled.   Place on center rack of the oven and bake 20 to 25 minutes until done.  Cool and cut into slices and/or freeze into whole loaves.

Easy Breadstick Recipe

If we are having soup or spaghetti, I make these breadsticks in 25 minutes.

• 1 cup flour
• ¾ cup plain yogurt
• 2 Tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt

Mix the ingredients and form into a ball. Roll or pat onto a round pizza pan.  Spread 1 TBSP olive oil over the top and sprinkle with garlic powder or herb and spice seasoning. Cut into breadsticks with a pizza cutter. Bake 350 degrees for 15 minutes and they are ready to eat.

If you would rather eat Pizza, here is a pizza crust recipe I make from scratch under the Best Taco Pizza blog.

Share Bread Memories and Bread Recipes

I hope you enjoyed the bread memories and bread recipes and you were able to think of some of your own. Enjoy making the Bread.   Share these bread memories and bread recipes with others on Facebook.

In the comments – What are some memories you have related to homemade bread?

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