Last week I did a lot of cooking and learned many things in the process. My son gave me his very own chili recipe. It was so good I made it twice. The first time around we still had organic tomatoes peppers, and herbs left over from our garden. I made the recipe using all organic except for the hamburger, because I didn't have organic hamburger.The second time I made it; I used store bought tomatoes and peppers that were not organic.

The chili was very good but it did not have the wonderful sweet flavors that the first batch had. The reason I mention this is because; over the years I have heard my friends say that they have followed their Grandmother's recipe to a T and it never tasted exactly like hers.

Today I am sharing an heirloom recipe from my husband's aunt Jo . . . who is over 85 years old. Many years ago she was craving her mother's bread, but could not remember the proportions of the ingredients. She bake bread for a week or longer everyday until she perfected the recipe to taste as close to what she remembered her mother making.

I decided to take it a step further and use the best ingredients that I could find. Jo's parents lived on a farm and grew all of their own food. From produce, to cows, chickens, and pigs and they used well water. I thought making the bread in a vintage "Pyrex Bake It In A Round", would be great fun as well.

Follow through and lets get started.

Step 1: Ingredients and Utensils

Recipe:

1 Cup Organic whole wheat flour

5 cups Organic White wheat flour

3 Large Organic free range brown eggs room temperature if using a hand mixer

1/2 Cup Morena Pure cane sugar

1/2 Cup plus Pure unsalted butter room temperature (A little extra for spreading on the top of the bread and for coating the pan).

1 1/2 teaspoons Sea Salt or pink salt

Two packages Fleischmann's Dry Yeast

1 1/4 Cups filtered or spring water, warm water(not hot)

Utensils:

Stand mixer with a dough attachment or hand mixer or mix by hand.

Pyrex bake a round baking tube or loaf pan.

Bowls, measuring cups, measuring spoons, dough board (optional), wooden spoon (optional) cotton dish towel (optional)

Cotton bread bag with draw string or a paper bag if you have one.

Scrap of aluminium foil to cover the ends of the baking tube.

Strip of parchment paper 4 inches wide and approximately 18-20 inches long to place the dough into the tube.

When making an heirloom recipe for family reunions or holidays; I like to use old dishes, pans, cotton flour sack towels, and homemade pot holders to give the meal a vintage appeal.

Step 2: Measure and Mix Ingredients

The pictures will show that I added water to the yeast and placed it in a small bowl. I did this to make sure the yeast would rise before making the recipe because the yeast was nearing the expiration date. I also placed the ingredients in separate bowls instead of in the mixing bowl as the recipe describes, to show the ingredients for this instructable.

It is very important to knead the dough thoroughly if you will be using a Bake it in a Round.

In a large electric mixing bowl with a dough hook place:

3 large organic brown eggs

1/2 cup Morena Pure Cane sugar

1/2 cup room temperature unsalted butter

1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt or any salt

2 Packages of Fleischmann's Dry Yeast

1 1/4 cups warm filtered or spring water not hot, it will kill the yeast

2 cups unsifted (White wheat flour) Please note: 3 more cups of White wheat flour will be added after adding the wheat flour and mixing the ingredients together. White wheat flour has a slightly sweeter taste with less bitterness than wheat flour. If you will not be adding White wheat flour you may need to adjust more flour to the recipe.

1 cup unsifted whole wheat flour

2 Packages Active Dry Yeast

Mix all together with a stand mixer several minutes to dissolve the yeast and develop the gluten in the flour.
If you don't have a stand mixer with a dough hook, you will have to remove the dough from the bowl and work in, by hand, 3 more cups, White wheat flour and knead until the dough feels smooth and elastic, but still a little tacky.
If you have a mixer with a dough hook, however, simply add 3 more cups of White wheat flour,as just described, and let the mixer knead it into the dough for you until it forms a ball. If it seems too dry to form a ball of dough, add a little water, a little at a time, until it does. If the dough seems too sticky and wet, however, add a little flour until it forms a firm ball. If the dough is too soft and sticky, the bread will not rise.
After a total of 6 cups of flour have been worked into the dough to form a rather stiff dough, simply leave the dough in the mixing bowl and set it in a warm place until doubled in bulk. If you have an oven with a pilot light, this is usually warm enough to help the dough rise.
Cover the dough with a cotton flour sack towel or kitchen towel.
Set the timer for one hour. Let the dough rise to the top of the bowl or double in volume.
Deflate the risen bread dough.

Step 3: Bake It in a Round Loaf Instructions

There are free instructions for using the Bake a Round here if you don't have them with your Bake it in a Round.

Method from here on . . . is for the Bake it in a Round :

Grease the glass round loaf using butter within one inch of its ends. Do not use oil.
Start at the far end, greasing the glass tube as you work down.
Tear a strip of parchment paper 20 inches long and about 6 inches wide.
Form the dough into a log about 3 1/2 inches in diameter and 6- 8 inches long.
Place the dough onto the parchment paper outside the tube.
Carefully place the parchment paper with the dough through the tube, lifting slightly as not to drag it across the oiled surface; Centering the dough.The dough needs to be slightly smaller than the tubes or you will not be able to place the dough through the opening.
Carefully remove the parchment paper leaving the dough inside the tube.
Using both hands, stick them into the ends of the tube and push the dough towards the center of the tube so that the dough is touching the top of the tube. If you don't do this; the dough might not rise to form the pretty round shape. I know because this happened to me and I had to make another loaf for this instructable because the shape was not round.
Place a scrap of aluminium foil over the ends of the glass tube to prevent the dough from sticking out of the ends.
Set the dough in a warm area ( 85 to 95 degrees F and free from drafts ); until the dough is double in size from approximately 45 minutes to 2 hours.
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F about fifteen minutes before baking the dough.
After the dough has risen remove the aluminium foil before placing the dough into the hot oven.
For this recipe, Enough dough will be left over to make a mini loaf of bread.

Step 4: Bake the Bread

Procedure:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F if you haven't already.

Place the round tube in the wire rack.

When the oven is hot, carefully place the rack into the center of the oven.

Bake for about 30 minutes or until the crust is light brown as shown in the pictures.

Remove the rack from the oven and allow it to cool enough to carefully remove the tube

from the rack and tilt the tube so the bread can slide out.

To soften the outer crust I always coat it with butter while it is still warm.

Cool completely before storing in a plastic, paper, or cloth bag.

If the bread sticks to the glass; use a plastic spatula to gently slide it next to the glass tube to release the bread.

Step 5: Sunshiine's Final Thoughts

Wow, this bread is so delicious. I plan to bake more to take to our aunt and let her taste it. Oh this will be fun~ The organic ingredients played a big part in the flavor profile but I give a lot of credit to the sweet flavor of white wheat flour.

I really like this Bake it in a Round rack~ now that I have tried it, I know I will be using it more often. I hope this tutorial has been interesting and that you try modifying your heirloom recipe so it taste just like what you remember Grandma made. If you do, I would be tickled to see a picture of it.

Thanks so much for stopping by and do have a great 2016.

sunshiine~