Grandma’s Weekend White Bread

I had something else planned to write about this week, but when I finally perfected this recipe. I knew I had to share. Grandma’s Weekend White Bread is the version my mom and I came up with when we decided to tackle my Grandma’s cryptic recipe. You see, the hand-written recipe card was missing instructions and quantities. Making this recipe a bit of challenge, but a fun project for my mom and me.

My Grandma knew this bread by heart. She probably could’ve made it in her sleep. My mom isn’t sure exactly how many loaves my Grandma would make each weekend. She just remembers it being a lot. I checked with my auntie Cath and she remembers lots too. The thought is 16 loaves.

What they remember is the giant bowl she mixed the bread in. There’s even a story about my grandpa making her a beater attachment to use with the power drill. I love this! There were seven of them on a farm, so I’m pretty sure whatever it took to keep everyone fed after a long day of farm chores was a must!

It’s a time I wish I knew more about. We lost my grandma in August and I miss her so much. I love hearing all the stories that are coming to the surface. We seem to all be a bit more connected from sharing her recipes and new tidbits of information that are being passed along.

The history they had and the life they led is something I aspire to in my own marriage. My grandparents were literally the definition of true love. My grandpa was a man of few words, but many smirks, while my grandma was a talker. She’d tell a story, that would tease my grandpa and laugh her way through it and he’d sit with a grin on his face, not needing to say much because that smile said everything. They were so special to all of us, but more than that, they were special for each other.

While my mom and I were working on this recipe, we enlisted the help of both my aunts and each had a slightly different memory of this bread, but both cheered us on immensely! So, with that said, let me share with you how we recreated Grandma’s Weekend White Bread.

How to make Grandma’s Weekend White Bread

First of all, I should share that bread has always been super intimidating for me. So, this was a big hurdle. I always thought bread had to be an exact science. Any baking is an exact science is what I’ve always thought, but I’m not sure I believe that. We tried this bread recipe three times and each time the loaves were slightly different but all were edible, but this final version is perfect! I think we’ve made my grandma proud.

I tried to make this the first time in the stand mixer, this is not that kind of bread, at least it didn’t work out for us. So, we tossed that and went old school with a giant bowl and a wooden spoon! This is my suggestion and will likely be the only way I make this bread in the future.

I tend to ignore a lot of instructions when I cook (maybe I get it from my Grandma). Using two packages of yeast, I ignored the noted that said it didn’t need to be dissolved first. I dissolved my yeast! It worked fine for me. Breadmaking is definitely feeling less intimidating after tackling this recipe.

So, to start, dissolve the yeast in a bit of warm water and sugar. I used hot tap water (ours doesn’t get very hot). Aim for warm-to-the-touch water. While that’s doing its thing. Mix together the remaining water, sugar, salt, melted shortening and four cups of flour. Stir this together until just mixed. Our first version, the one we tried in stand mixer, we missed this step, added the flour too slowly and ended up with way too much. That loaf was dense.

At this point, I stir in another three cups of flour and mix until the dough is tacky. Tacky as in sticks to your finger but gives way when you pull your fingers away. Then, I place a cup of flour on a flat surface and spread it around a bit. I like to still have a bit of a well, but a very large well. Turn the dough out onto the surface and start kneading the dough. I knead for 10 minutes. I set a timer here. Our second batch I didn’t knead long enough and the bread was a bit crumbly.

I did have to add an additional half a cup of flour to get the right consistency. It truly does become elastic, almost like playdough. That’s what we want here. Place this in a greased bowl, cover with a tea towel and let it rise for an hour in a draft-free spot. I like to use my cold oven with the light on. After it’s risen, punch it down. Now, this isn’t a boxing match. Literally just press it down into the bowl to get rid of some of the bubbles.

Lightly flour the same surface again, turn the dough out and divide it in half. Press half the dough into a rough rectangle about 9 x 12, as even as you can make it. I’m sure a rolling pin could work here, but we haven’t tried that version yet! Starting on the short side roll this into a tight roll, pinch the seam on the bottom and fold under the ends and then place this in a greased bread pan. Lightly brush the tops of formed dough with oil. I used stoneware for these, just make sure any pan is greased all the way up the sides. Repeat this with the other half of the dough.

Cover these and let them rise for an additional hour. Baked these for 25 to 30 minutes in a preheated oven. Listen for a hollow sound when knocked and a nice golden brown crust. Take these out of the oven and butter the tops right away, then flip the loaves out of the pans, turn them right side up and leave them to cool completely before cutting.

I’m so excited for you to try this recipe. With three versions under our belt, I’m pretty sure the old adage “third times’s a charm” definitely applies here. I’m convinced my grandma had a good laugh at us, from above, as my mom and I tried to figure out her recipe from that old card. And I’m positive she’d be thrilled with our result. I may not have five kids, but I’ll be making Grandma’s Weekend White Bread as part of our meal plan every week from now on!

Loved Grandma’s Weekend White Bread? Check out these other delicious family recipes, I’m sure they’ll hit the spot:

• The Best Almost Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
• Grandpa’s Cabin Pancakes
• Rutabaga with Apple Mash and Crumb Topping

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If you get a chance to make this or any other recipe on the blog and want to share. Please feel free to tag @candyjarchronicles or use #candyjarchronicles on Instagram, so I can see your post. I’d love to see what you’re cooking in your kitchen!

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