Baking Bread and Cinnamon Rolls Daily or Weekly

We were out for our anniversary, and we went to one of my favorite spots. They serve popovers. It is the only place in the nearby town that serves them. I ordered an entre and my husband ordered a sandwich.

The last time we were there the popovers came prior to the meal for the table. We were told that had changed and the entre will get popovers and the sandwiches don’t. We asked to purchase popovers and were told certainly that was doable.

The waitress could see our desperation. I told her that my husband would wrestle me for mine and he may or may not win but I am not taking any chances so please bring him a popover also.

As we talked we discussed why we are both so crazy for popovers. We think it is because they remind us of the homemade bread made by our mothers and other relatives.

The crustyness of the outer layer and the softness of the inside of the popover. Then they always have butter and homemade fruit preserves to go along with the popovers.

We then talked about how being born in the 50s meant that we had homemade bread every week and sometimes we would come home from school and have homemade bread or cinnamon rolls right out of the oven waiting for us.

The closest I ever came to that when my children were growing up was a bread machine. We ate way too much bread when I was using that, so I put that aside. Now, I am gluten sensitive so don’t dare make homemade bread, even for the hubby, even when he asks.

That is when I just suggest we go for popovers. Or I buy him cinnamon rolls. Even though we don’t think anything is as good as homemade, he will eat them up.

My niece messaged me asking if I had her grandma’s bread and cinnamon roll recipe. This is what I sent her. I thought it was hilarious. She probably didn’t.

My Aunt Lois (on the far right) Bread Recipe - 5 cups water or flour (not sure) 3 pkg. yeast 5 T. sugar 5 T. shortening 5 tsp. salt.

Experienced bread makers will appreciate the ingredient list to Auntie Lois Bread recipe. The flour amount is your guess. My daughter Joanna and I had a good laugh as we copied this recipe. Please give it a try though as Auntie Lois made the very best bread and so did Mom.

Then there was Mom’s recipe we found, even though I never saw her reading a recipe.

Perfect White Bread - 1 pkg yeast ¼ c. warm water 2 c. scalded milk 2 T. sugar 2 tsp. salt 1 T. Lard 5 ¾–6 ¼ c. flour. Bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes.

Not bad but nothing about the cinnamon rolls she would make with her bread dough.

My mother was on dialysis due to her diabetes at the end of her life, so this recipe was in her recipe book.

Dialysis Bread (3–10–2007) ¾ c. lard 2 c. milk ½ c. sugar 2 ½ tsp. salt 1 c. cold water 3 eggs 3 T. yeast ½ c. warm water 1–2 T sugar. Bake 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Makes 4 loafs.

I thought all the recipes were funny as these women probably made so much bread over the years that they never followed a recipe. Their bread was always good, so I encouraged my niece to make some and let me know.

The only thing I was sure of was that most of the time mom used her bread dough recipe for cinnamon rolls. Not all the time but most of the time. At least that is what I saw.

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First published by Mercury Press on medium.com