More of our Favorite Bread Recipes

We're having fun sharing all these delicious recipes!  Which one is your favorite?

From Elizabeth: Here is a family recipe for bread pudding that goes back to my mom’s mom and her three sisters. They are all gone now, but the “younger” generations still fondly call them the perfect four. They were all born and raised in New Orleans, where folks take their bread pudding very seriously, and this is a simple but delicious recipe! It’s just a lagniappe (Southern Louisiana Cajun for “a little something extra”).

Bread Pudding

Ingredients:

4 cups stale French bread, buttered and cubed

4 eggs

1 cup sugar

2 cups evaporated milk

2 cups whole milk

¼ pound butter

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup raisins (optional)

Meringue:

4 egg whites, beaten

¼ teaspoon cream of tarter

1 cup sugar

Directions:

1. Place buttered bread in a 9” x 13” baking dish.
2. Beat eggs; add sugar and blend until creamy.
3. Add both milks, butter, and vanilla; pour over bread.
4. Place baking dish in a pan of water; carefully place in oven and bake 1 hour at 350°F. Halfway through the baking, add raisins (if desired), and stir.
5. To prepare meringue, beat egg whites, cream of tartar, and sugar until stiff.
6. After an hour of baking, spread meringue on top and return to oven till browned. Makes 6 servings.

 

From Charlotte: A homeschooling mom of 9 in our local support group gave this recipe to me years ago. Her family made multiple loaves every week, filling their home with that irresistible aroma of fresh-baked bread. I was a little intimidated at first. She was an "experienced" mom and I was just a newbie at the time, but I gave it a try and found it to be one of the most consistent and delicious recipes I've ever used. 

"Proofing" the yeast at the very beginning of this process provides some reassurance that things are going the way they should . . . and a teachable moment with the kids. This recipe produces the most delicious bread ever! It's so good that the kids don't seem as rowdy, the dust on the furniture not as thick, and the dirty laundry mound not as high!  

Amish White Bread

Ingredients:

2 cups warm water (about 110°F)

⅔ cup white sugar

1½ tablespoons active dry yeast

1½ teaspoons salt

¼ cup oil

6 cups bread flour

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, dissolve the sugar in warm water and then stir in yeast. Allow to "proof" until yeast resembles a creamy foam layer on top of the water.
2. Mix salt and oil into the yeast, then mix in flour, one cup at a time.  
3. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth. Place in a well-oiled bowl, turning once to coat. Cover with a damp cloth and allow to rise until double in size (about 1 hour).  
4. Punch dough down, then knead for a few minutes and divide in half. Shape into loaves and place in two well-oiled 9" x 5" loaf pans.
5. Allow to rise for 30 minutes or until dough has risen 1 inch above the top of the pans. Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes.

 

From Karen: A good friend gave me this recipe when I first got married 28 years ago, and I’ve been making it ever since. I’ve become famous for it at every church we’ve ever been to, and it’s the treat most requested by my college students living away from home.

Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients:

2⅔ cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon nutmeg

½ teaspoon ginger

½ teaspoon ground cloves

1 cup butter or margarine

1¾ cups sugar

4 eggs

1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin

1 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Combine dry ingredients and set aside.
2. Cream butter and sugar in mixer until fluffy. Add eggs and beat well.
3. Add dry ingredients alternately with pumpkin, beginning and ending with dry. Stir in chocolate chips.
4. Divide batter between two greased 9” x 5” loaf pans. Bake in preheated 350°F oven about an hour or until done. Makes two loaves.

Have you shared your favorite bread recipes?  We'd love to hear them!