Daily Bread

Three things my Irish grandmother, Margaret Grace Bolger Haney, taught me about food that have proven true throughout my life:

• Your thoughts and feelings go into the food you prepare just as much as the flour, butter and other ingredients. Cook with love, and the people who eat the food you set in front of them will leave the table with full stomachs and light spirits.

• Feed those you can't get along with. People who break bread together cannot remain enemies.

• Never be afraid to experiment. The dogs will eat anything.

While it is true that I have learned what to avoid by observing and listening to tales of my parents', grandparents' and great grandparents' mistakes, the stories of their triumphs serve as road signs guides pointing me in the right direction. Foir instance, I carry the success story of my grandma Haney's resourcefulness during the Great Depression as a personal insurance policy against panicking when times get tough.

When the street car company my grandfather was working for let him go after the stock market crash of 1929, for a time he worked for the WPA, but when that project ended, he could not find another job. Before long Grandma's cupboards were bare except for a bag of flour and some yeast. She made six loaves of bread, wrapped them in brown paper and sent Grandpa out to sell them door-to-door. Much later she would tell me, she wasn't sure if her plan would work, but they were so desperate that she had to try something.

Within an hour, my grandfather had sold every loaf. Grandma used some of the money to buy more flour and yeast and the next morning she rose before the sun came up to mix her dough in a dish pan and set it to rise. That morning she made a dozen loaves. As before, they all went. Grandpa came home with the news that some of his customers wanted him to return with more bread the next day.

She bought more bread pans and began what was to become a thriving business. Before long she was working through the night to turn out 50 loaves of bread and dozens of donuts as well as pies and cakes. Her efforts supported the family for two years until Grandpa could find steady work.

By the time I came along, all that remained of Grandma's bakery business was a stack of cardboard cake boxes in their garage. I spent hours folding them up and making forts with them, and I loved to hear the story of how my Grandmother had saved the family from ruin. Even more than that, I delighted in eating her bread.

Grandma Haney's Bread

two packages dry yeast
2 cups lukewarm liquid (water or milk or both)
2 T. sugar
2 t. salt
2 T. Crisco or vegetable oil
6 to 61/2 cups flour

Scald the milk, heating it so that it is hot, but not boiling. Let it cool until it is luke warm. Test it on your wrist as you would a baby's bottle. Pour your liquid in a large bowl and sprinkle in the yeast. Stir to dissolve it. Add sugar, salt and shortening. Add half of the flour and beat well. Work in the rest of the flour and knead the dough until it is smooth. (about 10 minutes) Put it in a greased bowl, cover it with a clean, damp dish towel and let it rise in a warm place until doubled. (In winter grandma always set the dough pan in a dishpan of warm water.) Punch it down and let it rise again. Divide it into two pieces and form them into loaves. Put in greased breadpans and let rise until they are rounded. (about an hour) Butter the tops. Bake at 400 for 35 minutes or until done.

This bread recipe is the basis for all kinds of bread and for rolls too, depending on the flour you use and how you shape it. If you use wheat or rye flour, you'll need to use a half and half mixture of dark and white flour.