Hello Ladies! I have to first say, thank you so much for your sweet and funny letters to my Mom from the previous post! My parents are coming up for a visit tomorrow and will be here for about a month, so I can't wait to show her your little pleas for my china :) She told me she couldn't bring any on the plane, lol, so hopefully that means the rest can be shipped when she gets back home :) Now on to the new post... We have had rain here for what seems like 60 days, and so instead of gardening and playing outside this past weekend, I spent the time baking and cleaning and getting ready for company. My middle Son Kyle is graduating High School and so this coming weekend I'm throwing him a party to celebrate. One of the items on the menu is homemade bread :) I find this recipe so easy and most of the work is "waiting" for it to rise, lol, so I got a lot of cleaning done in between and also spent an hour reading through my new magazines too. Just click on the pictures to make them bigger and you can copy the recipe if you'd like, it's delicious, so Enjoy!
~ The recipe comes from my Vintage Pillsbury cookbook, circa 1963 ~
The smell of homemade bread is amazing! I found the trick is using scalding milk, and soaking the yeast in warm water first too. Just as the recipe implies :)
And of course, kneading is everything, I use my palms and really get in there for about 10 minutes!
Then you end up with this silky smooth ball of dough and even that has a wonderful scent too! The little picture above on the right is the first rise, a slightly damp towel covering the finished dough is another great tip for rising!
~ Then you wait, and wait and wait :) then you wait again :) ~ 
I passed the time cleaning and then sat down to the new summer reads! Country Living Magazine and of course Victoria too! I think this is one of the prettiest issues yet from Victoria! Go grab your July issues if you haven't already! Victoria features Maryjanes Farm in this issue and the eye candy is fabulous and fresh! And the recipes from Country living are sure to be a big part of Kyles Graduation party too!
Then I did a little more waiting , lol, until the pretty dough had been turned and risen a few more times, it was ready to bake!
Can you smell it? I sure hope so , because you all deserve a nice big piece!
Baking bread wouldn't be complete for me if I couldn't store it in something pretty :) A few years back I went on a quest for some Vintage European bread bags, this one below was a great find on eBay and I just adore the colors. I believe it's Swedish or German for " Fresh Bread" ??, but if anyone knows for sure, let me know if I'm right or wrong :) I am on the hunt for an Italian or French one now :)
They even look pretty and fit right in with the aprons when not being used for Bread!
I let the loaves peek through for the picture, but if you pull the ties closed the linen will keep the bread fresher a bit longer! Of course, homemade bread doesn't usually last too long in my house , but it looks sweet on a table when you have guests or for a party too!
~ Fresh bread is best warm right out of the oven with fresh butter and jam preserves too! Enjoy! ~
I hope you all have a deliciously sweet week ahead! I am praying for a sunny day for Kyles graduation BBQ here! keep your fingers crossed for me! Thank you so much for always being such sweet friends, I hope the summer is finding you all blessed and content!With appreciation and Hugs,
~ Cynthia ~