Grandma's Bread Recipe

 A loaf of bread that contains monoglycerides, enzymes, ascorbic acid, soybean oil, vinegar, cultured wheat flour, monocalcium phosphate, and soy lecithin costs $4.38 and lasts well over a week without growing mold. That's nuts. That cannot possibly be healthy. 

Yes, this recipe takes about and hour and a half from start to finish, but most of that time is waiting for it to rise or bake. This is for one loaf, so the measurements are a little wonky. When your family gets spoiled, you'll need to double it to make two loaves that can be baked together. When I was a kid, the bread label only used words I knew, so I'm going to give you this delicious bread recipe that is actually healthy.

Warm in a small saucepan to 120-130 degrees (I use my meat thermometer that beeps):

½ whole milk 

5/8 cups water 

1 ½ Tbsp butter cut into pieces

Blend together in a mixer:

1 ½  cups of bread flour

1 pkg or 2¼ teaspoon of yeast

1 Tbsp sugar or honey

1½ tsp. salt

Add warmed liquid ingredients to mixer and then add: 

another 1 ½  cups of bread flour to make a dough

Knead on a floured surface 5-7 minutes until smooth and elastic

Place dough in a buttered bowl and cover with a clean dishtowel then place in a warm spot and let it rise for 20 minutes.

Punch down dough. Transfer back to floured surface and pat into a 14"x 7" rectangle. Starting with the short side, roll up tightly, pressing dough into roll with each turn. Pinch the ends when you have the roll complete and place in a buttered loaf pan. Cover again and place back into the warm spot for another 30 minutes to double in size. 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Make a slash across the top of the dough and pour another tablespoon of melted butter over the top. Bake on the lower rack for 20-25 minutes until the top is golden brown. Cool in the pan for a few minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack and/or cut off a slice while it's still warm. Try not to eat the entire loaf in one sitting.