Clara's Bread

(AKA, "A Bread Recipe For A Footnote")

Today’s post is courtesy of my grandmother, Clara Reimer, and my uncle Dov.

Clara made good bread. When my uncle moved to the city, he asked her for her recipe, which she retrieved from her recipe scrapbook, quickly scrawled down and gave to him. He tried it out, and it was nothing like the bread she made, so he came back and asked her what her “real” recipe was. “Well, it’s the one I gave you, only with some changes I’ve added.”

“So then write down the changes.”

“Oh, I don’t know what they are. I just do them.”

“Well, how about the next time you make the bread, you stop after every step and write down what you just did?”

Okay, yeah, that she could do.

4 Grain Health Bread*

Mix in big Bowl:

½ Cup Red River Cereal or coarse Cracked Wheat

½ Cup Brex

2 Cups Bran

1 Cup Oatmeal (Quick)

2 T Instant Mashed Potatoe

2 or 3 T Wheat Germ

1 or 2 T. Brown Sugar

1 T. (rounded) Shortening or Margerene

1 T. Salt

Into 2 Cup lukewarm water & 1 T sugar add 2 T yeast & let stand

Pour about a quart of boiling water on above. Add 2 Cups white flour & 3 eggs & Beat. Then 1 Cup yoghurt with about ¾ Tsp. Soda or 1 Cup milk from skim milk Powder mixed with cold water or just water. Feel dough only warm add yeast & Thicken with whole wheat flour. When too thick to stir with spoon let rise 1 hour then put on pans.

If preferred add more white flour and knead a little. Keep soft. Very sticky but makes good bread anyway.

*Technical note: this is a recipe for finger rolls.