Bread Recipe

Okay everyone...you asked for it, so here you go. Just FYI--making bread is harder than it looks, so "if at first you don't succeed, try, try again!" (And plan on it taking about 2 1/2 hours of your day.) This recipe is mostly my mother-in-law's, but it has a few tweaks of my own. It makes 4 loaves. I have a Bosch machine that I LOVE, but Kitchen Aids and other mixers work well too.

2 c milk
2/3 c shortening
heat these two together in a pan over low heat until shortening is melted, then add...
2 c cold water and mix together

add:
4 t salt
2/3 c brown sugar
2 T white sugar
4 eggs
2/3 c powdered milk
4 T (heaping tablespoons!) yeast (instant yeast works best)
mix together then add:

approx. 14 cups of flour
(I use 100% whole wheat flour, but that's because I grind my own and I use Montana white wheat, which is really light. If you buy wheat flour from the store, it's most likely going to be 'red wheat' and it's too heavy to do all whole wheat so I recommend doing half white and half wheat flour, otherwise your bread will be a brick and won't rise much--believe me, I know!)

You can add flour until the dough is no longer clinging to the sides of the bowl, but be careful not to add too much flour or it will be too heavy and won't rise very well.

Put it in a separate bowl, cover with a cloth and then place in a warm spot to rise for about 30 min. (I put it in my oven.) After 30 min, punch the dough down and then let it rise for another 30 min. After that, take it out and shape into 4 loaves. Put into pans and then let rise again for 15 min. Then turn on the oven to 325 degrees and let it bake for 30 min. (It will continue to rise as the oven warms up.)

Then...enjoy--YUMMY!!

If any of you try it and have questions or need help, please let me know! Good luck!