In the Kitchen

I love to cook, to bake, to create melody through the sounds and smells of the kitchen. Nothing says "home" quite like the smell of Mama Jewell's Homemade Bread fresh out of the oven. Burning your mouth on the first bite because you weren't patient enough to let it cool....SO WORTH IT! Some have said that I've perfected this recipe, I say I'm just trying to keep up with a legend. Whether a simple cup of coffee shared with a friend, the fun of inventing a new recipe with my children, or perfecting a dish rediscovered in the family recipe books...these are the foundations of our memories created in the kitchen.

I come from a family that flourishes in the kitchen. From Mama Jewell's bread, sop & biscuits and no-bake chocolate oatmeal cookies, Jamaw's buckeyes, MawMaw Dunning's dumplings, fried pancakes and sour cream cake to Mom's twice-baked potatoes, peanut butter fudge and fried rice w/sugar. We cook, we bake, we share stories, we EAT!!!!! My small kitchen brims and overflows with the love, the tears and the joy poured out within it's walls.

I'll share some of my favorite recipes with you. I'd love feedback and I hope you can create some of your own memories with them.

Drumroll please............Mama Jewell's homemade bread.

Mama Jewell made this bread for years and it's always been a family favorite. Jamaw sat down with Mama Jewell in her later years to preserve this recipe but this was a creation, rather than a process, so most ingredients are added by feel & experience rather than exact measurements of ingredients. Half of the fun is trying to replicate that taste & feel, so completely burned into the recesses of my mind.

1/3 C Warm Water 1/3 C Shortening Approx 12 C Plain Flour

1 T Sugar 3 Tsp Salt Approx 1 Qt Warm Water

1 Pkg Dry Yeast 1 Can Condensed Milk

Makes 4-6 loaves

1. Dissolve Yeast & Sugar in 1/3 C Warm Water. I use a small coffee cup & fill 1/3 w/water, then add yeast & sugar (or honey). Stir to dissolve & allow to bubble while I start next step.

2. In a bowl, slowly work condensed milk, water, flour, salt, yeast mix & shortening together. I start with salt, shortening & a little flour (so I can break up the shortening well) then add the rest of the ingredients a little at a time. Start with a spoon & when you can knead without the dough sticking to your hands your ready for the next step. Add flour or water as kneading to help with consistency.

3. Let dough double in bulk. I cover with warm, wet cloth

4. Punch down, form loaves in loaf pans or on baking sheet and let almost double again.

5. Bake 325F for 40 minutes.

Temp can cause the rise time on your dough to vary.

My oldest daughter has created her own version by adding brown sugar & cinnamon, then rolling her loaves....YUMMY!!!

I've also made the ABSOLUTE BEST CINNAMON ROLLS using this recipe as my dough.