Bread Making 101

Joyce and I try to get together every Christmas to make our Grandma's recipe for Swedish rye bread. This year, we couldn't fit it in before Christmas, so we finally scheduled our session for last Saturday. Since it's an all-day process, I got up early and started the first step. The mixture of lard, sugar, salt, yeast, water, and flour had to sit for a couple of hours until it was light and fluffy. Joyce arrived at about 9:30, just in time to supervise the next step.

Time to add the molasses. Phebe was very interested in watching, and soon she was helping.
In with the raisins.

Next comes the bran.

Then, the rye flour.

Mixing was a real challenge!
"This is hard work!"

"But I can do it!"

Then comes the white flour. It was way too tough for Phebe to mix, now. She switched to taking the pictures!

Now it's time to knead the dough. Joyce always does the messy part.

But Phebe thought that looked like fun!

She also tried to keep the bread board from sliding all over the place.

We finally plopped it back in the bowl and let it rise for 2 more hours. This is our chance to do a little shopping, chatting, and eating. Jenna showed up in time for this part!

We finally got to shape it into loaves.

Once again, Joyce did the kneading. Then it had to rise for another hour.

Ready to bake!

After another hour, the bread was out of the oven and cooling on the counter.

Finally, it was time for a sample! Yum!

We figured our Grandma would be 120 years old this year, so that means this recipe has been around for a really long time. It was fun to watch Phebe help, and to remember how we used to do the same thing when we were her age. However, I also remember my grandma having short curly white hair, a plaid housedress, and an apron. Times have changed! What a great tradition, though, and the bread is sooooo good! I can't wait for raisin bread toast for breakfast this week, just like in the olden days!