Monday, March 2, 2015

Shredded Wheat Bread Recipe



Many of you asked for my recipe for shredded wheat bread after reading my post A Promise in a Loaf of Bread. I will share it with you today.

I have two go-to cookbooks written by a woman named Marjorie Standish. They are:

Cooking Down East, published in 1969 and
Keep Cooking the Maine Way, published in 1973
both published by the Maine Sunday Telegram



They are favorites of my mother, myself and now my daughter. The recipes are easy to follow, there are no exotic ingredients, and there are interesting notes about each chapter such as:

Baking beans is one of the best of all Maine cooking customs, isn't it? Have you ever stopped to think of the many times you have walked into a cozy Maine kitchen and smelled them baking? All kinds of beans, baked in all sorts of ways and by all kinds of fuel. 

There are two other booklet style cookbooks that she wrote which I have.  One is a how to guide for making chowders and stews, and the other for cooking seafood.

My husband, who was raised by his grandparents, speaks fondly of his grandmother's cooking. These recipes follow her style. There are some recipes however I won't attempt like the Jellied Veal Loaf which does not appeal to me in the slightest.

Mrs. Standish began her Cooking Down East  newspaper column in the Maine Sunday Telegram in 1948. It was published in the newspaper for 25 years, and prompted the writing of her cookbooks. Having a degree in Home Economics from the University of Maine at Farmington (then called Farmington Normal School), she taught for five years as a home economics teacher. Imagine my surprise one day when an older woman I know told me Mrs. Standish was her Home Ec teacher.

Now for the recipe as it appears in Cooking Down East:

Shredded Wheat Bread
2 cups boiling water
2 shredded wheat biscuits
2 tablespoons shortening
2 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup molasses
1 yeast cake
1/4 cup lukewarm water
about 5 cups flour, unsifted

Measure water, shortening, salt and molasses into mixing bowl, crumble shredded wheat into this. Dissolve yeast in warm water, add to first mixture when it has cooled to lukewarm.

Add flour by cupfuls, using as much as batter will take, until you have a stiff dough. Knead for 8 minutes. Grease bowl, place dough in it, let rise for 2 hours, covered. Punch down, let rise another hour.

Turn out on floured board, whack down, let relax for 10 minutes. Make into 2 loaves, place in greased pans, let rise until doubled. Bake at 400 degrees for 50 minutes. Turn onto rack, brush tops with butter, cool and store.



I would think there might be some (myself included) who wouldn't wait for it to cool before trying a slice, and I doubt you'd need to store it for long.

There are more little gems in this cookbook. I have fond memories of my mother's Melt in Your Mouth Blueberry Cake, and Doughnut Muffins. I'd be happy to share those with you as well if you'd like.

These cookbooks are available on Amazon, or you may be able to find some on ebay or in used bookstores.

Thanks for stopping by Little Birdie Blessings today. I'm appreciative of each of you.  


11 comments:

  1. I think this may be the recipe that I used, too. (But I cheated and used my bread machine.)

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  2. Yay! My grandsons, who have food allergies, can have this! No eggs or milk! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe, Abby.

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  3. Hello Abby, Thank you for sharing this recipe. I've never heard of shredded wheat bread before. This sounds yummy to me. I'll have to check out the cook books too. Joyous Wishes, Linda

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  4. I'm so glad you shared the recipe, Abby, because when I read about it on your blog last week I was quite curious about the ingredients. I have never had shredded wheat bread before :)

    Blessings to you on this Monday! Hugs!

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  5. Oops! I chose the wrong book because I liked that graphic best (for Pinterest). Thank you so much...I am going to give this recipe a whirl one day soon. My grandmother loved shredded wheat softened with hot water and stirred to a mush with salt and pepper and butter. John goes on a shredded wheat kick, though he eats it with sugar and milk crunching all the while. I am not a fan of shredded wheat, but this bread recipe appeals to me!

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  6. Almost makes me wish I was a baker.
    Thanks for sharing.
    Hugs,
    Teresa

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  7. I actually read your post just yesterday on A Promise in a Loaf of Bread. Amazing story!!
    I came back today to find this post! I love the cookbooks you recommended - simple and easy! So glad I found your blog through Pinterest. :)
    Cooking Up Faith
    www.cookingupfaith.org

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  8. Thank you for the recipe Abby! Would LOVE for you to share more recipes! ;) BLESSINGS!!!

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  9. Dear Abby, I love Shredded Wheat! It brings back happy memories of my childhood. I will say that I would love to see the muffin recipe!
    Blessings, Roxy

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  10. Sounds wonderful - but with just two of us in the house it is not practicable.
    Blessings
    Maxine

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  11. Yum! Sounds like a good bread.

    I am always perusing thrift shops and used book stores for cookbooks. Not only for recipes but for the awesome graphics in them.

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