This recipe was handed down to me from my mother-in-law, who got it from her mother-in-law, Ma Sally. Ma Sally is a local legend in my small town. From what my husband, and many others, have told me, his grandmother was warm and kind, but had the kind of grit that women just don't have anymore. A rancher's wife through the Depression and the Dust Bowl Days, she had to make do with what she had and raised four children often without electricity or running water. Yet her children never went without the comfort of a loving mother. There are so many wonderful Ma Sally recipes that have been shared with me, but this is still my all-time favorite!
Here is what you will need:
2 tbsp. Butter
1/2 tbsp. Salt
2/3 c. Sugar
3 eggs
2 packets (or 4 1/2 tsp.) active dry yeast
2 1/2 lbs unbleached all purpose flour
In a small saucepan warm milk and melt butter. The milk should not get super hot, only warm enough to melt the butter. Once the butter is melted in the milk add the salt and stir until incorporated. Turn off heat and allow to cool slightly. Using a mixer with a whisk attachment (you can do this without a mixer, but it can be very exhausting to stir for the amount of time necessary for a good result...I have done it, but I had to enlist the help of my husband) break the three eggs and beat until scrambled. Then add the sugar and mix completely. Once the eggs and sugar are combined, add the yeast, mix slightly and allow to sit for a few minutes.
Once the saucepan containing the milk mixture is cool enough to touch, slowly add the milk mixture to the mixer and, still with the whisk attachment, mix well. Allow to rest for 15 to 20 minutes until the yeast has a chance to bubble and froth.
Start adding in the flour 1/2 cup at a time. Use the whisk until the dough just starts to become gooey/gluey and then switch to a bread hook. Continue adding in flour 1/2 cup at a time until the dough starts to form a ball and pull away from the sides.
Once the dough is too tough for the mixer, spread about 1 cup of flour on a smooth flat surface and then dump the dough out, spreading another 1/2 cup of flour over the top of the dough.
Before kneading the dough, spray the inside of a heat/oven safe bowl with some cooking spray or grease it with some butter and set it aside. Knead the dough for 8 - 12 minutes slowly adding in flour as necessary so that the dough can be kneaded on the counter without leaving anything behind. Once the dough is smooth to the touch (no longer sticky) place it in the pre-greased bowl, spray the top of the dough with some cooking spray, cover it with a damp thin cotton cloth or cheese cloth, and place it somewhere warm to proof (or rise).
Because I am lucky enough to have a gas stove, the oven portion is always warm due to the pilot light and that is a great place to proof the dough. My mother-in-law runs the dishwasher and places the bowl just above it on the counter. A friend of mine places it next to her radiator heater. It doesn't really matter where you put it, just so long as it is warm.
Once the dough has doubled in size, it usually takes about 30 - 40 minutes, punch it down, spray the top with some cooking spray, re-dampen the cloth, cover the dough, and place in a warm place to proof for a second time.
Allow to double in size again, then, depending on the size of your bread pans, divide the dough into the necessary size portions to fit the pans. Grease the pans you plan to use and drop dough into them. They should be about 1/3 to 1/2 of the way full with dough. Spray the top and set them aside to proof, for the third and final time, in a warm place.
Allow the bread to cool in its pan for 10 to 15 minutes then turn it out onto a cooling rack and allow to cool completely before cutting. If you cut it while it is warm, it is absolutely delicious, but the bread gets smushed and looses its shape. If you don't mind misshapen loaves, then slice away, add room temperature butter, and enjoy!
Obviously my husband and I cannot eat three loaves of bread in the amount of time it would take to avoid them going bad (well...we could but it could put us in a carb coma), so I wrap them in wax/parchment paper, then cling film/plastic wrap, then tin foil, then I freeze them.
I hope you enjoy the recipe, and relish the time you spend making bread, there is something so earthy about making bread and serving it to those you love. This recipe connects me to a woman who impacted so many lives yet whom I never had the chance to meet!
