Considering the blog icon is a loaf of bread, this should have been the first thing posted. All growing up I remember seeing my mom knead bread on our table and the smell of fresh bread filling the house. Next to homemade cookies, my favorite thing to eat as a child was a hot piece of fresh bread right out of the oven (smothering in peanut butter and honey). For the past four years I tried to repeat the recipe and it was always a disaster; dry, crumbly, huge bubbles. . .etc. I was starting to think I didn't have Hatch blood, or that I couldn't make good bread without a big mixer, or that the high altitude life doesn't yield delicious bread. It was only good as toast. Then Mom gave me this recipe (a new one she uses) and it is a gem. You can actually make sandwiches out of it without it crumbling and it turns out well every time. I think the key is beating it for 5 minutes and I love that I can use hot water and not worry about it killing the yeast (b/c the yeast comes in later). Good luck!
Mom's Homemade Bread Recipe
5 1/2 C hot water3/4 C honey
2 T salt
2 eggs
8 C whole wheat flour
Beat 5 minutes with Kitchen Aid hand mixer
Add:
2 T yeast
3/4 C oil
Beat 5 more minutes.
Stir in by hand 6-7 more cups whole wheat flour.
Knead 10 minutes. If starts to stick add a dusting more flour as needed.
Let raise 1 1/2 hour
Turn our and divide into 5 loaves.
Let raise 42 minutes. (I let it raise for 40 and it didn't seem to matter. . . .j/k mom).
Bake 10 minutes. Turn loaves. Bake 30 more minutes. (I never turn the loaves. I'm lazy).
Go truly classic Hatch (maybe it's just classic Angela) and add PB, then flip it over in a bucket of sugar and press down so that all the nooks and crannies in the top of the bread are evenly coated in sugar. Yum.
