My mom sent me a scan of my [great] Aunt Gertrude’s bread recipe, probably based on the one she learned in in her high school home economics class (circa 1910s late 1920s in Taney County, Missouri.)
Most of the recipe is practical advice for technique. My grandma (Gertrude’s sister) never formally taught me (or my mom or my siblings) how to bake. Which was a crying shame because she was a damn fine cook! When Bertha let me observe her in the kitchen, her “lessons” consisted of a list of ingredients and “add enough X until Y happens.” She rarely referred to a cookbook. (That said, I still have her beat-up copy of Better Homes and Gardens.)
I definitely absorbed that philosophy and use recipes as guides instead of strict rules. This is also why I should never be a contestant on any baking show. I dislike the contestants–and judges–who stress about exact measurements for ingredients. Also explains why I love Nailed It! especially when the bakers are given a perfectly good recipe and yet decide to go their own way while the judges look on in horror.
I’m glad that she did finally write one down for the sour cream sugar cookies!
Notes on the transcription: I did not correct any spelling or punctuation. Parts of the scan of the hand-written 2 page letter were really washed out, so i put my best guesses in [brackets]. I kept her original paragraph breaks, but not the indents. In the list of ingredients, she used ditto marks for “cups.”
Rules for Bread Making
Dissolve yeast in lukewarm liquid as directed on yeast package
The milk should be scalded for bread making, but be sure and cool it to lukewarm before adding the dissolved yeast. You can add the sugar, shortening and salt to it while it is still hot, but no yeast.
When the ingredients have been combined as directed in recipe, place the dough in a warm place of about 75° or 80°. In winter I hang mine from the ceiling as the temperature is more even near the ceiling. Temperatures of rising and baking is the secret of bread making. Allow it to rise slowly. This makes a great difference in texture and flavor. I let my bread rise twice before shaping it in loaves.
Preheat your oven before putting bread in oven. Note: Everytime you work your dough down make sure it is well greased on top.
Bread – 2 Loaves – takes 1 cakes of yeast
Dissolve yeast as directed on pkg. – 1 cake of yeast
2 cups of scalded milk
¼ [cup] of sugar
¼ [cup of] shortening (melted)
2 teaspoons salt
When the mixture is lukewarm combine it with the dissolved yeast.
Sift before measuring flour. I really don’t measure my flour, but it will take 5 to 6 ½ cups of flour for 2 loaves of bread,
Don’t put all the flour into the liquid at once. Add about 3 cups at first then beat the batter for about one minute. Add flour until you can work dough on board. Knead dough until it feels rubbery. Of course, you will have to keep adding more flour on your board to keep dough from sticking to board, but don’t make dough to stiff, you can add to much flour.
Place dough in a greased bowl – cover with lid. Cloth or plastic. Let it rise double – it will take about an hour or longer. Then work it down to its original size and let it rise again double in size. It will take it a little longer to come up this time. Work it down and shape it in loaves or rolls (if you want rolls) Place them in a greased pan – make the pan just about half full. Let it rise again until double. Bake in over 400° for 20 minutes. Then reduce heat to 300°. Bake bread until it shrinks from side of pan. It will take about 45 minutes, maybe less. Grease your loaves when you take them out of oven – Now if you have a failure the first time don’t give up. Anyone can make bread. It will seem a chore at first then it will come easy. Some ovens will need to be 450° and 350°, but the stove I have now bakes best at 400° and 300°. [Or your] oven may be different – Best of [luck.
–Gertrude]
