Yesterday, one of the bloggers I follow posted on making cinnamon buns. Now cinnamon buns are one of my favorites. My Mom, who passed away in 1973, made awesome cinnamon buns. I can still remember them because they were so good.
So the cinnamon buns reminded me of some experiences people had making home made bread. When I went to the Arctic in 1963 very little fresh food was available. We were given a ration with a year's supply of food. That didn't include fresh bread. We had 200 lbs of flour and a bunch of yeast. I was single and bought bread at $2.50 a loaf which was an unheard of price. So the women who came north baked their own bread. Probably none of these young women had baked bread before they came north. First time experiences working with yeast and dough were quite challenging. There were many famous flops before there was any remotely edible bread. One girl admitted that when she threw her first results out that the dog wouldn't eat the product.
It wasn't all doom and gloom. For my second posting I was married. My wife made bread and she was very competent. We had an oil stove with a shelf above the stove top. The temperature on the shelf was perfect for rising dough so we had spectacular bread. I still remember eating great tasting bread.
The best batch of bread we had was when I was involved in the process. My wife had started mixing a bread dough. She was the settlement nurse and was called away. She told me to keep stirring the bread and add a little flour once in a while. She said she wouldn't be long and not to stop mixing. Well, you guessed it. she was delayed . When she got back there I was still mixing the dough. She rescued me and she claims it was the best bread we ever made.
I'm sure that if bread making wasn't so laborious that very little bread would be sold in stores or else they would have to significantly improve their product.
Ooh! The delicious smell of home made bread!
Few things smell as good as bread fresh from the oven.
ReplyDeleteYes, it gives you a real lift.
DeleteSteven I would still like to be following your blog. Is there some easy way for me to follow?
I used to make my own bread, and I remember learning to knead it. It was supposed to be kneaded until it felt like a baby's bottom! It did, you know. :-)
ReplyDeleteApparently kneading bread for some people is very much a stress reliever.
Deleteah, you brought back some great memories. my mother made the best homemade bread - every saturday morning was her day. we froze loves to be used when fresh ran low.
ReplyDeleteBread making brings back a lot of good memories for many people.
DeleteI've made my own bread but I had to stop! It was soooo good! Going to get back at it soon though.... You can't beat the taste, or the price!
ReplyDeleteThere's nothing that compares to home made bread.
DeleteMy Mother-in-law could make the best biscuits. She made them for breakfast every morning. When she passed away we shared her receipe book but nobody, not even her four daughters, could make them like she did.
ReplyDeleteI hope Heaven smells like fresh baked bread. :)
Sometimes our Moms had an awful lot of the recipe in their head and so when it was written down it wasn't the same as what they made.
DeleteThere's nothing quite like homemade bread. I actually don't bake bread, but both my Grandmothers did.
ReplyDeleteBaking bread is a lot of work and we don't have the same warm areas in a kitchen for making the bread rise.
DeleteI enjoy making bread. My mom was queen of the cinnamon rolls, often inviting all the neighborhood kids over when she made dozens.
ReplyDeleteThey tell me that there's something very calming about kneading the dough. The taste of home made bread is a good reward for making it.
DeleteYes, I need home baked bread, also don't mind kneading it. It isn't hard to make as it's just four, a little shorting, yeast, salt, and water. Have to hang around the house while it rises, punch it down, form into loafs, rise some more, and bake. Makes the house smell heavenly.
ReplyDeleteIt's basically simple but it takes time. Once you get a routine it helps too.
DeleteIt is well worth the effort.
ReplyDeleteI can agree with you but I can't speak from my own experience.
DeleteAmazing what you can do to survive - you, in the Artic, and me in the tropics!
ReplyDeleteBoth my grandmothers made wonderful bread, scones and biscuits - no need for supermarkets at all.
I knew how to wipe up, set a table, clear a table etc., never had a clue how to cook.
By God I learnt fast when I went to the then
Territory of Papua New Guinea. It was learn or starve! I still have my cooking book - The Presbyterian Women's Missionary Union cook book of 1962! It does have a baking bread recipe. I wasn't that ambitious to try that. It appears every time I have to make "batter"!
Ah the funny and weird memories of those days.
I love my "PWMU" book - ha ha!
Colin (Brisbane. Australia)
When I went to the Arctic , I was in the same situation as you. I had to learn pretty fast.
DeleteThe single girls were most hospitable and invited the single guys for meals.
Our grandmothers didn't have the option of buying bread as it wasn't carried in the little country stores.
Delicious indeed. I must admit I have just started making my own bread a couple of times a week. It is the smell of the new bake and the delicious taste of still-warm bread that is the great thing. And baking is the new rock and roll over here at the moment.
ReplyDeleteGood on you for baking bead.Cool that baking bread has become popular.
DeleteI love the smell of fresh-baked bread! Nothing makes a home seem more welcoming than that smell! Great memories!
ReplyDeleteMost of my followers are Older and remember bread making. I wonder how many younger people will know what the smell of fresh bread is.
DeleteMy daughter is 41 and she has made bread in the past.
I made some Flat Bread the other day..it was wonderful. I like bread..we use half whole wheat flour and half white flour. Baking makes the whole house smell good!
ReplyDeleteI can see you mixing bread for hours:)
Yes, I was naive enough to just keep on stirring. I thought if I quit I would spoil the bread.
DeleteIt seems that everybody has their own little twist to making bread.
Hi Yah Red - I too used to make my own bread - My Mom made the best breads and rolls and every Saturday night in our kitchen it was home made beans and brown bread - My Mom was always cooking up a storm. Now I have this wonderful bread making machine that does all that hard work and I have to admit it doesn't wear out my olde arms at all. Great Post - brought back some wonderful memories in my Momma's Kitchen :)
ReplyDeleteYes, bread making machines work well. There are many good recipes for them too.
DeleteNow home made beans...there's another extremely delicious dish. We used to let ours cook overnight.
Oh I too can smell the bread cooking in the wood stove, I miss those smells.
ReplyDeleteThat's hilarious the first batch the ladies dog wouldn't even eat, it was just that bad eh? lol
Wish me well Red, round two coming up today!
Cheers.
I saw your round two today. I also love bannock.
DeleteI used to make all my own bread until I found out I was gluten intolerant :( I still make the Bossman cinnamon rolls once in a while......there is nothing like the smell of fresh baked bread!! NOTHING!
ReplyDeleteI like the capitals on NOTHING because that really is true.
DeleteFresh, well-made bread of almost any sort is just so fully suited to what human crave, isn't it?
ReplyDeletePearl
I made bread for years and years and years. Gradually I stopped when I found out Terry has Celic disease. I've tried making gluten free bread and it sucks. Tastes just like cardboard. We live with the memory of bread. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteLinda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
http://deltacountyhistoricalsociety.wordpress.com
Home made bread. It's the best and the smell of it baking early in the morning....:)
ReplyDelete