Sweet Jesus, I Love My Great Grandma Lucy.

Today, i was at my Grandmas taking care of my Great Grandma Lucy, playing wii bowling, eating ravioli making her, her Jack Daniel's and Pepsi. I went to the fridge, and to my delight i found BREAD PUDDING. This is no ordinary bread pudding, this is my great grandmas bread pudding and I've tried so hard to replicate it but I've always failed. Well that all changed today, after I got home I started to snoop through collections of recipes Lucy gave to my Mama.

An hour later, I found the recipe card, in Lucy's crazy chicken scratch hand writing, for her "Perfect Bread Pudding." My heart smiled, my face brimmed with excitement, and i scream out in joy, "FUCKIN' A! I GOT THE RECIPE! VICTORY SAUCE!" A little inappropriate but hey, this has been one of the most delicious things I've ever eaten, and I now have the opportunity to master it like Lucy, and my Grandma, Sweetiepie. Unfortunately i don't have some of the things i need for the recipe today so i just decided to make some fresh bread to allow to become "day old" to use for the recipe.

Crusty Honey White Bread:
-2 eggs
-1 egg yolk
-enough lukewarm water
-5 3/4 c. white bread flour
-2 tsp. sugar
-2 tsp. salt
-2 tsp. active dry yeast
-4 tbs. butter, diced
-2 tbs. honey, i prefer either amber, or wildflower honey for this recipe

In a liquid measuring cup, lightly whisk the eggs and egg yolk together, then add enough lukewarm water to have 2 1/4 c. Now in a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast. Add in the butter and combine with fingertips until it reaches the consistency of breadcrumbs. Next form a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the egg mixture, stir until a dough forms. Toss onto a well floured surface, and knead for 10 mins. Place in a large, oiled bowl; cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place for an hour.

Having a warm place for the dough to rise is essential for good bread. It allows the yeast to produce CO2 faster and make the bread rise better; but that's another story for another post.
To create a good space, place a bowl of piping hot water at the bottom rack of your oven, then place your bowl of dough on the top rack. The heat of the water creates an ideal environment for proper rising action.

Now that the dough has risen, knead for a minute. Form the dough so it's just as long as the pan, but three times as wide. Fold the dough in three length wise, place in a greased bread pan, and let rise covered in a warm place for an extra 30 mins, or until the dough rises above the pan. like so:

Meanwhile preheat the hot box to 425

After the dough has risen for the second time, brush the top with melted butter and sprinkle with a tsp of sugar and 1/2 tsp of salt. Slip into the oven and bake for 30 mins, or until the bread sounds hollow when it is tapped.



Ta da!, in a day or two, this bread will be transformed into the "Perfect Bread Pudding." Goodnight !