This traditional italian bread has a beautiful texture and chewy crust
2 cups room temperature water
2 cups room temperature milk
1 palm sugar
1/2 cup crisco on board
3 fingers salt
1 compressed yeast cake dissolved in warm water
12 cups flour
scald milk and cool till luke warm, mix sugar, 6 cups of flour and yeast with with milk and stir well, add salt and crisco and stir.
Stir in 5 cups of flour and save last cup of flour for board. Place on wooden board and knead until smooth and firm. Put in grease pan to rise in warm place, let double its bulk. Knead on board then let rise for about 40 minuntes and make into loaves to let rise again and double in size. Once risen form into loaves and bake at 400 about 50 min… makes four loaves
Cautionary Note: Cooking by hand – is just that – cooking by hand. I cook by hand so my recipes are generally a hand of this and a hand of that. A finger is as much of that item that you can hold on top of an outstretched finger. A palm is that which you can hold in the palm of your hand. A hand is that which you can hold on your hand flat with fingers stretched out. – come on folks — work with me here…. set the measuring cup aside, put down the measuring spoons and get cooking.
