Nov 12, 2011

Bread Making: Clair then I.

When I was growing up we always had homemade bread. I am sure mother must have been the one who initially made it each week but when it came to be a real thing that I could remember any details about it was Clair that made the bread. He would go home after school and mix up a batch and then later that night the house would have the fresh aroma of home baked bread. I think Clair must have enjoyed cooking to some degree because bread wasn’t the only thing he would make. He made a lot of cookies as well including over five dozen green applesauce cookies one year for St Patrick’s Day.

Back to bread making. I don’t recall if Clair ever had to mix the bread with anything other than a metal bread mixer that had a handle that you would turn and it would then knead the dough without you ever having to touch the dough until you put it into the pans. I am sure that it was hard even then to move that handle around with the stiff dough inside but I always will think it was easier then kneading the dough by hand.

Well Clair graduated from high school and went on to go on a mission and go to college leaving the family without a bread maker since it was too late by the time mom got home from her job at the school to make it at night. Saturday’s were out of the question because that was wash day and it left no time for anything else. So for some reason the job fell into my hands. Clair however had worn out the bread-maker and so I ended up doing it all by hand. I got to where I would always leave a little flour on the table to place my hands in while kneading the bread so it wouldn’t get too built up on my hands. It always seemed like a very sticky mess especially when first mixing the flour into the wet liquid parts of the recipe. I must admit however that I enjoyed those years of making the bread and even carried it into my marriage for a while when we would make a bunch of loaves for our Christmas gifts to the neighbors at Christmas time. We usually did it the day before Christmas so we could deliver them when fresh out of the oven. I should return to that bread making again since it now only Marie and I at home and it would be easier than having to get it from the store each week. I really eat very little bread now due to my age and the effects of it on my weight but I wouldn’t have to make the usual four loaves every time as I did in my youth every week.