INGREDIENTS: - 1 five pound bag of flour
- 6 cups of warm water. (105-115 degrees)
- 2 packages of yeast
- 2 tablespoons of salt
- 4 tablespoons of sugar
- partial handful of Crisco Shortning (about 1 1/2 tablespoons)
(The more crisco you use, the softer will be the crust.)
- A couple handfuls of toasted (repeat--toasted) seasamee seed
DIRECTIONS:Dry ingredients are added together in a large pan.
Yeast is dissolved in the warm water.
Mix indgredients together well, adding water as you proceed.
Knead dough well. (When mixed correctly, dough becomes less tacky and
wants to stick to your hands.)
Allow dough to raise until it doubles in size, about 2 hours. Keep
covered and out of drafts.
Rub a little crisco on top of dough to keep from drying out.
Divide bread dough into six portions (roll size), knead again and let
sit and raise in individual bread pans for another hour.
With a sharp knife (repeat sharp), rapidly cut down center of loaf.
bread will deflate. (Don't worry, it will raise again briefly once
placed into oven) Makes six loaves.
Preheat oven. (about 375 degrees)
Bake until brown. (about 20 to 30 minutes) Remove from pan and cool.
COMMENTS: My mother gave me this receipe for a hard crust bread that her mother
gave to her. Her mother's family originated somewhere near Messina, Sicily.
While my mother only makes bread on holidays, her mother use to make it every day.
I've tried it twice, and it sure is alot of work.
Grandma use to make bread everyday, pack lunches for my
grandfather and uncles, then in her "free" time run her neighborhood
grocery store that was attached to the front of the house. Besides
the usual household chores. Where did she get the energy?
Submitted by Steve St. Pierre (swsaint@concentric.net)
