100 Year Old Collard Greens Recipe

Jimmy has been pestering me for about two weeks  now to make one of his favorite meals.   Beans, cornbread and collard greens.  Folks from the southern U.S. will  just nod when they read this. Beans, cornbread and collard greens is a classic southern meal.  Its a dietary staple.  To my Connecticut born, Los Angeles raised  husband, it is gourmet cooking.   In this day of pre-packaged everything, he might be right.    The rest of Seattle  seems to think so.  Collards are popping up on menus all over town.    Sometimes they are ok (just ok) but most of the time they are pretty disgusting. Seattleites  really don't  know what to do with this  vegetable that is relatively new to their foodscape. Collards are a tricky vegetable. If they are cooked incorrectly they smell bad, taste bad and the texture  can be unpalatable. I am reminded of a restaurant in Ballard that served me watery,  underdone, collard syrup...yeeccchhhh!  I'm certain someone told the chef that the secret to collards is to add sugar.   But boiling up the contents of your hummingbird feeder and  blanching some greens in it is not the answer.  Southern cooks have had a couple hundred years to  learn how to make collards  taste good.  Collards are one of the most nutritious vegetables you can eat but,  that vitamin, mineral and antioxidant bomb  is packed tightly  in tough leaves with a bitterness that will pucker your whole face.    The following recipe  is time tested to make  diners go from  'I'm not eating that smelly ,disgusting mess' to 'May I have some more please'.




Ingredients:
 4 to 6 cups of washed, chopped collards (usually one bunch)
1 medium onion , chopped
1 cup chopped/diced bacon or salt pork
2 tablespoons  butter
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon mustard powder 
1 teaspoon  red pepper flakes
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup  apple cider vinegar


In a 6 or 8 quart stew pot, caramelize  your onion in the butter and brown sugar.  When your onion is almost caramelized  add your  bacon or  salt pork and continue to cook for 1 or 2 minutes longer  or until onions are finished. Then add your mustard, red pepper , orange juice and vinegar.  Bring that all to a boil while stirring.  Then add your collards and fill stew pot  with water. Bring it to a boil, cover with a lid and reduce temperature to drop it to a simmer.  Stir occasionally. Let simmer for about an hour and then remove the lid and  raise temp to bring it to a low boil for about 20 minutes to a half hour.  At this point you want to boil it  down but you don't want to boil it dry.   You want  your liquid to  solid ratio  to  be about half and half. 
On salting your collards: If your bacon or salt pork is adequately  salty you should not need to add salt.     If you are going to add salt ,wait until the last 15 minutes to do so.

100 Year old Wine Recipe, Secret Family Recipe

100 year Old Wine Recipe

This recipe has been handed down for a while now in my family. The copy I have is stained, torn and almost needs   an archeologist to decipher the notes  and scribbles in the corners.
 This recipe is as organic as it gets. No sulphites, no added chemicals, just..... nature at its best.
So, please enjoy this recipe as much as I do.
 


Make your own wine.


To do this you will need:

Equipment:

1 five gallon plastic bucket with lid

1 five gallon glass water jug (called a carboy)

1 plastic airlock

1 cork for carboy with whole bored for airlock to fit

Large stew pot

Potato masher

Sterile siphon hose

Cheese clothe or old Pillow case

Supplies:

2 oz ‘s of pectic enzyme

1 lemon

10 pounds of sugar

1 small packet of wine yeast

10 pounds of fruit (plum is the easiest to start with)

1 packet campden tablets

All items on this list can be purchased either online or at your local brew store

Step 1. Sterilize all equipment

2. Pit ( no need to peal) and cut up fruit and put in plastic bucket.

3. In a large stew pot put 2 ½ gallons of water, juice of half a lemon, 5 pounds of sugar and 2 oz of pectic enzyme. Heat to just under boiling, making sure all the sugar is dissolved.

4. Pour sugar solution over fruit in five gallon bucket.

5. Wait one hour or until solution and fruit have cooled to room temperature and then add the packet of yeast and stir lightly.

6. Put lid on bucket and let sit over night

7. Each day for 7 days , remove lid and mash fruit with a potato masher.

8 .Day Seven , strain juice from fruit through cheese cloth

9. Put juice into Five gallon carboy

10 Put 2 gallons of water in stew pot and heat to just under boiling

11. Put remaining 5 pounds of sugar in hot water and dissolve thoroughly

12. Wait until sugar water cools to room temperature and add to juice in carboy

13. Slide airlock into bored cork and place in opening of carboy

14. Add 1 campden tablet to airlock and 2 tablespoons of water

15. It is wise at this point to seal cork with wax from a candle

16. Put carboy in a warm place and walk away for 1 month

17. At the end of one month you will notice a heavy sediment on the bottom of the carboy….siphon the now ‘working ‘wine back into the sterilized plastic bucket leaving the sediment behind.

18. Pour sediment down drain and clean carboy well

19. Put wine back into carboy and re-seal as before

20. Repeat siphoning process (called racking) every couple of months or so until no sediment forms on bottom

21. When sediment ceases to form, your wine is done and ready to bottle

22. The fermenting process could take from 6 months to a year but it is well worth the wait!

Don’t forget to treat yourself to a glass every time you rack the wine…….. You will be able to taste the changes as nature makes its bounty.



Just a few notes. Wine made with this recipe will be higher in alcohol content than commercially produced. There are no sulphites in this wine. You should get 2 1/2 cases of wine per carboy (give or take). Bottles fished out of recycling, de-labeled and sterilized will keep costs down. Try to use real cork when it is available and never never never use a screw cap for homemade wine. Once you have made a batch of this wine you can add specific herbs to make it medicinal. 
 

100 Year Old Spiced Wine Recipe, 100 year Old Hot toddy Recipe, Moonshine

100 Year Old Spiced Wine Recipe.  This is a delightful  'Cold' remedy.   As Grandaddy said   "Its good for what ails ya".  A little research shows he might be right. Clove is a natural antiseptic.

'Medicinal' Homemade Hot Spiced Wine

1 bottle homemade plum or apple wine
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp whole clove (if using ground clove knock this down to 1/8 tsp)
1 tbsp sugar or honey

Take 1 cup of the wine, put it in a small saucepan, add cinnamon, clove,sugar or honey and boil for five minutes. Pour boiled wine back into bottle, give a tiny shake. Pour hot spiced wine into your favorite glass, curl up in front of a fire and sip slowly.


Grandaddy called this a hot toddy
To spice moonshine You will need 1/2 pint jar of moonshine. Pour 1 shot into a saucepan with 1 cup water, juice from 1/2 a lemon ,sugar,cinnamon,clove and follow process from above.  I recommend you take this in  very small quantities cuz it packs a seriously eyecrossing punch! 

100 year old Apple Fritter Recipe, quick and easy apple fritter recipe,

100 year Old  Apple Fritter Recipe





1 3/4 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/3 tsp salt

1/2 cupful milk

2 eggs

1 tsp oil or butter

3 tbsp sugar

1 cup diced apple



Beat eggs extremely well (until fluffy).  In a bowl, put your dry ingredients and mix them well, then add milk, butter/oil, eggs......Mix well until you have  a thick batter, then add your apples.

Heat your cooking oil to 350 degrees and  drop batter by spoonfuls into the oil.  (Don't make them too big or they will not be done in  the middle.  Watch them closely  and do not walk away while frying.  1-3 minutes on each side.  Remove from oil and lay on a paper towel or brown paper to absorb excess oil. 

They are ready to eat plain but you can sprinkle them with powdered sugar.

Also ... if you like you may add 1/4 Tsp  cinnamon to the recipe.

100 year old tomatoe bisque recipe, Ida Bailey Allen, Depression Kitchen, Home grown herbs

Its just an Ida Bailey Allen kind of day.  I found this blog on 'depression kitchen'  that features Ida

http://thedepressionkitchen.blogspot.com/2009/11/ida-bailey-allen-and-her-national-radio.html

I am now a follower.

Dinner tonight will be Idas Tomato Bisque with homemade foccaccia bread and a salad from the  fall garden



100 year old Tomato Bisque recipe



3 cups stewed sifted tomatoes (I'm gonna puree with the food processor)

1/2 tsp baking  soda  (to lessen the acidity)

3 cups scalded milk

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

3 tbsp flour

3 tbsp butter



Mix baking soda into tomatoes and set aside.  Put butter and flour in a saucepan  on medium and stir til melted together. Add milk, salt and pepper and bring to a boil, stirring constantly for 5 minutes or until  milk thickens. When milk is thickened  add tomatoes and mix thoroughly. Serve immediately.



I'm going to add  a tablespoon of basil  since I went to all the effort of growing it, drying it and storing it.  Ida recommends adding a bay leaf and one slice of diced onion if you have it.  I'm going to add these three in the butter and flour and sautee' them before adding the milk.

100 Year old pickled Beets recipe

100 Year Old Pickled Beets Recipe

Here's Granny's easy recipe for 6 pints of pickled beets

100 Year Old Pickled Beets Recipe

5 pounds beets, scrubbed and trimmed. Leave 1 inch of the tops and leave on the taproot.  Put in large pot of cold water and set to boil. Let boil for twenty minutes.  Pour into collander (I just dump mine in the sink) run cold water over them and let cool for about 20 minutes. Cut off tops and taproots and slide off skins. Quarter and pack into sterilized jars. Put 1/2 tsp pickling spices in each jar.  Pour hot vinegar solution over them , seal and water bath for 20 minutes.  Put in cool dark place for 90 days.

Vinegar Solution

5 cups vinegar
2 cups water
1/3 cup sugar (I like turbinado)
1/2 tbsp salt  (I like sea salt)
five large cloves  of garlic
3 tbsp of pickling spices (McCormicks works great ) Put the pickling spices in a tea bag or tie them in a coffee filter for easy removal
Simmer solution for about 20 minutes.
Pour over beets packed in Jars

A Note: Many recipes call for using the water from the boiling of the beets. Don't do that. Its where a lot of the 'dirt' taste comes from. My grandmother says this comes from  people in dry areas who needed to save every drop of water. It became very common practice during the dust bowl era.

100 year old Apple Fritter Recipe,

100 year Old  Apple Fritter Recipe


1 3/4 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/3 tsp salt
1/2 cupful milk
2 eggs
1 tsp oil or butter
3 tbsp sugar
1 cup diced apple

Beat eggs extremely well (until fluffy).  In a bowl, put your dry ingredients and mix them well, then add milk, butter/oil, eggs......Mix well until you have  a thick batter, then add your apples.
Heat your cooking oil to 350 degrees and  drop batter by spoonfuls into the oil.  (Don't make them too big or they will not be done in  the middle.  Watch them closely  and do not walk away while frying.  1-3 minutes on each side.  Remove from oil and lay on a paper towel or brown paper to absorb excess oil. 
They are ready to eat plain but you can sprinkle them with powdered sugar.
Also ... if you like you may add 1/4 Tsp  cinnamon to the recipe.

100 year old tomatoe bisque recipe,

Dinner tonight will be Ida Bailey Allens Tomato Bisque with homemade foccaccia bread and a salad from the  fall garden

100 year old Tomato Bisque recipe

3 cups stewed sifted tomatoes (I'm gonna puree with the food processor)
1/2 tsp baking  soda  (to lessen the acidity)
3 cups scalded milk
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
3 tbsp flour
3 tbsp butter

Mix baking soda into tomatoes and set aside.  Put butter and flour in a saucepan  on medium and stir til melted together. Add milk, salt and pepper and bring to a boil, stirring constantly for 5 minutes or until  milk thickens. When milk is thickened  add tomatoes and mix thoroughly. Serve immediately.

I'm going to add  a tablespoon of basil  since I went to all the effort of growing it, drying it and storing it.  Ida recommends adding a bay leaf and one slice of diced onion if you have it.  I'm going to add these three in the butter and flour and sautee' them before adding the milk.

100 year old red cabbage recipe, old family recipe,

Cabbage: Undeniably the most humble vegetable you can grow effortlessly in your garden. It is sturdy, prolific, nutritious, stores well and a single head can feed the masses.  The ruling classes should drop to their knees and give thanks for cabbage. Cabbage is the reason the working class folks are still there to serve their every petty whim (potatoes run a close second).   On that note... tonight we are  having braised pork tenderloin  with  a family recipe for red cabbage that is  at least 100 years old.

100 year old red cabbage recipe

You will need 2 cups chopped red cabbage
2 tbs diced onion
1 diced  apple  (I recommend granny smith, but any apple will do.  Peal or not peal ..its up to you)
1 tbs brown sugar
2 tbs vinegar
2 tbs oil ( I like olive oil myself but I've experienced it with bacon fat and..  surprise its just as yummy)
1 tbs butter (optional)

Put oil (and butter)  in a skillet and heat it to medium  When butter is melted add all other ingredients and saute until onions are clear.
      
This recipe takes to canning very well without turning to mush... but I recommend  a pressure cooker for sealing as  a water bather does not get hot enough 

100 year old green tomatoe pickle recipe, Texas Chow Chow, Granny's Chow Chow, Green Tomatoes, (southern chow-chow), Ida Bailey Allen

Many of our tomatoes are turning this week thanks to the strangely warm and summery weather we are experiencing here in Seattle. But its not going to be enough. Now.... I told Jimmy we should put  a half cold frame back over them ( or go on a national search for a virgin to sacrifice) but he has valid reasons for not doing so. That means, it falls to me to get creative.  In desperation I am once again turning to Ida. Pickled green tomatoes. I'm hoping this serves two purposes;
 1.) Our cucumber crop was less than stellar this year resulting in only 7 pints of pickles. We go through about 2 dozen (including gifting).
 2.) Substituting green tomatoes for classic cucumber pickles will keep ALL those wonderful tomatoes, we had such high hopes for, out of the compost bin.

I will be practicing some kitchen courage with 10 of  the  40 pounds or so of unripened tomatoes.  The rest I will pull this weekend , put in a cardboard box (not touching) and allow to ripen  before making sauce.
I have faith in this because I have used green tomatoes for other purposes ( southern  chow-chow and frying)

Pickled green tomatoes
5  pounds green tomatoes (quartered and the seeds cleaned out)
2 pounds onions
2 pounds green peppers  (quartered and the seeds cleaned out)
5 cups  vinegar
2 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp mixed pickling spices
1 tsp each celery and mustard seed (I'm gonna use 2 tbsp mustard seed cuz I like all pickles really mustard-y)
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp horseradish (I'm not gonna use this cuz horseradish and me do not mix well)

Put all vegetables in a container of brine water (1/2 cup salt to 1 quart of water) Let stand over night. Drain and pack in sterilized  jars
Put vinegar,sugar and seasonings in a pot and bring to a boil, simmer 20 minutes. Pour over  vegetables in jars making sure to cover all vegetables  with liquid.  Put on sterilized lids  and water bath for 10 minutes. Store in cool dark place.  Allow 6 weeks for curing.   

100 Year Old Jam Recipe, Spiced Jam with turbinado

Its Jam and Jelly making time. Fruit is everywhere!

This is an ANY FRUIT YOU HAVE  recipe
Its over  one hundred years old.
I also use it for plum jam because my neighbors have a tree and they give me bushels of them.  Most of them are turned into wine but I like to save out  a couple of pounds for jam.

I know some of you jam and jelly makers out there are hooked  on commercial pectin. For You folks... use the ingredients here and follow the instructions on the pectin packet.

For braver souls who are willing to get into the way back time machine and do it like granny did it, here is my favorite jam recipe and directions.

Spiced Blackberry -Apricot Jam

2 cups strained blackberry juice (you can use whole berries but I hate the seeds)
2 cups pitted  quartered apricots
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon butter ( optional to stop foaming)
5 cups sugar  (if you want a truly amazing jam, use turbinado or raw cane suger)
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp vanilla

1. Put all ingredients together in large pot, stir gently and let stand for 1 hour.
2. Bring all ingredients to  a rolling boil, stirring constantly
3. Simmer until the mixture is thick when dropped on a plate

When done,  pour into sterilizeded jars, cap with sterilizeded lids and water bath for 10 minutes.

If you need a little extra courage for this process, keep remembering that people were making jams and jellies for hundreds of years before commercial pectin   showed up in the 1920's and became the 'only' way to make jams and jellies.  Most fruits want to be jam, especially strawberries and apples. All you really need  is the ingredients, some patience and some kitchen courage.

100 year Old Fudge Recipe

Its rainy and gray and cold here in Seattle.  So, I wanted to make fudge to go with my hot spiced wine.
I know there is a fudge recipe on the back of every jar of marshmallow cream but I wanted to make it from scratch without  re-mixing somebody else's  end products (ie marshmallows and chocolate chips)
To that end I turned to Ida Bailey Allen.  But Ida didn't warn me that candy making is an art form! It takes practice. The recipe she gives takes only about 10 minutes but its 10 very important minutes and prep  is essential.  The first time I didn't have everything I needed sitting 12 inches from me.  3 feet from the cook is to far.  The next time I used turbinado instead of fine granulated sugar. This gave me crunchy candy because the crystals were too big to dissolve in the time  allotted.  Last night...... I GOT it!
Here's Ida's recipe and some basic instructions learned by .........well.... screwing up.

CANDIES OF THE FUDGE FORMATION (Ida's title... not mine)

3 cups fine grain sugar
2 ounces unsweetened bakers chocolate (this makes a milk chocolate fudge. Add another ounce for darker fudge)
3 tbs butter
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup milk
1 cup chopped nuts

If you are a beginner like me a candy thermometer is a must have

Chop your nuts and put them in a bowl (stop laughing Jimmy)
Put your butter and vanilla in a small bowl
Grease a flat pan with butter,set aside
Put your sugar and milk in a large pot and bring to a boil stirring constantly, scraping bottom of pan  while you stir (seriously, don't stop or the whole thing will go south)
Boil til candy thermometer says 236 degrees
remove from heat immediately  and add pre-measured  butter and vanilla
beat fudge for three to five minutes... longer if you can.
When you  are at the end of the beating, add your nuts and mix well.  If you add these to soon you get nut butter
Pour into pre-buttered pan. Let cool in out of the way place for a couple of hours

Ida says the trick to good fudge is to cook it shorter and beat it longer.  I use my hand mixer and start on low (don't want to be splattering blistering candy all over yourself and the kitchen) gradually increase speed. After a minute or two your fudge will begin to look fluffy instead of saucy.
Don't forget to pre-measure everything before you turn on the heat  because candy doesn't give you  enough time to pour the vanilla into a measuring spoon.

PS....... ADDENDUM......10/16/10
 I was told by my candy making neighbor that I need to drop the temp on this recipe to 212 degrees to make creamier fudge. She said only do 236 when using heavy cream.  Back to the kitchen to try again!

100 Year Old Cornish Pasties Recipe

Cooking for two can sometimes be a real challenge. It takes some serious meal planning. Its not too hard with a twenty minute meal like pork chops or pasta... But when you want a roast (beef or chicken or tenderloin) it gets tricky.  Its nearly impossible to get a 10 oz beef roast.  When going for a food you know will have leftovers , the leftovers should be planned for. Ida Bailey Allen has a whole section for leftovers.  Tonight we will be having roast pork tenderloin.  Tomorrow I will use the leftover tenderloin to make Ida's Cornish Pasties.  I love this recipe and so does Jimmy.  Once cooked, the little pasties can be frozen for a quick meal at a later date.

Cornish Pasties

2 cups cold cooked diced potatoes
2 cups cold cooked meat
1/2 small onion,diced
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Pie crust (as I said in a previous post..... I make nappy pie crust, so find a recipe from a RELIABLE source)

Mix potatoes,onions,meat, salt and pepper together in a bowl.
roll your pie crust thin and cut into 4 inch squares.
Put a spoonful of the meat mix in the middle of each square. 
Wet the edges with water or milk and fold them over the meat mix.
Brush the sides with milk or water
place on a greased flat pan and bake for 20 minutes.

100 year old Chicken & Dumplings Recipe

Its raining in Seattle......S'PRISE!  So, today 's recipe is perfect for a cold, squishy day. Pre WWII  Chicken and Dumplings (for two).  Total cooking time 2 hours ...... This is a pre instant gratification food, and well worth the wait! If you  have a  few extra  people  around the table and need a little more... just use a bigger chicken, a bigger pot and add more vegetables.

100 year Old Chicken & Dumplings Recipe

You will need for this:
1 small cornish hen
1 medium onion
4 medium carrots
1 cup diced celery (optional)
1/2 tsp sage
2 tbs parsley (4 tbs if using fresh parsley)
1 tsp rosemary
salt
pepper

Put the whole chicken in an 8 quart pot of water with the herbs and the onion (quartered). Add a little salt and pepper  (tasting throughout the cooking process is mandatory so only add a little salt at a time) Bring to a low boil for about 40 to 45 minutes. If chicken is frozen when you put it in.... boiling will take about an hour.  At  45-ish minutes, take chicken out of pot and put on plate to cool for about 5 minutes.  When cool enough to touch, pull all chicken meat  off bone and put chicken meat back into pot. Add carrots  and celery at this time  and bring back to a low boil  for about thirty minutes or until carrots are done.   Your liquid will probably boil down  a couple of times during this process so just add more water when needed. When the carrots and celery are done, drop the temperature from low boil to a simmer...  drop in your dumplings and put a lid on the pot..  Let them cook for 10 minutes covered and then uncover and cook for 10 more minutes.
How do you make dumplings?

From Great Grannys 100 year old biscuit recipe of course.

2 cups all purpose flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
2 tbs fat (yes!  grannys recipe says 'fat' because you can use shortening, vegetable oil , butter or in a pinch, bacon grease.... whatever you have handy)
3/4 cup milk

Put all dry ingredients in a bowl and  add 'fat'. Mix fat in with a fork until your ingredients are  sort of crumbly. Then add milk and  mix well.  Lay out dough on a piece of floured  wax paper. Pat down to about an inch thick. Cut into about 2 inch squares and add to pot.  Cook covered for 10 minutes and uncovered for another 10 minutes.

(If you want to make biscuits  instead of dumplings  just follow the recipe above , cut dough into biscuit rounds,  put in a greased, lightly  floured pan and cook in an oven preheated to 400 degrees  for about 15 minutes or so.)
  
Now I'll admit this all sounds labor intensive, but honestly I get in a  whole lot of conversing , net surfing, crocheting, telephoning and general puttering-around  activity while the cooking process is occurring. And if anyone wants me to do something I don't want to do... I just say  'cant...I'm cooking"

100 year old Amish sugar cookie recipe

100 year old Amish  sugar cookie recipe

1 pound butter
3 cups  sugar
4 well beaten eggs
8 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp soda
4 tsp baking powder
2 cups heavy cream
1 tbsn vanilla

Cream together butter,sugar,eggs and vanilla. Then add your cream slowly.  Then add all other ingredients. Roll out dough to about 1/2 inch thick and  cut  desired shape.  Bake for 8 minutes at 350 degrees.  Do not over bake as this will dry out your cookies. You may need to experiment with the temp a bit as each oven differs.  

100 year old corn chowder recipe

100 year old Corn Chowder recipe

2 slices salt pork or bacon
2 tbs minced onion
2 cups diced potatoes
3 cups boiling water
2 cups corn
4 cups milk
1 tsp celery salt
1/2 tsp paprika
2 tbs flour

1. Saute onions and salt pork/bacon together until onions are clear.
2. Add Potatoes and water, simmer until potatoes are tender.
3. Add corn, seasonings and milk, let simmer for  about 10 minutes
4. Thicken with the flour and let simmer for five minutes 

100 Year Old Mountain White Bread Recipe

100 year old Mountain White Bread recipe

Yesterdays  bread making was an astounding success.  Mountain White Bread made with honey and butter.   Be prepared though , The  aroma will linger and make you crazy.  The whole house still smelled like fresh baked bread when I got up this morning. It is yeasty  and tangy,  buttery and slightly sweet.  I brushed a small amount of milk on the dough right before I put it in the oven so the crust is  flaky but not too chewy It is also the most sliceable bread I have ever made. 

 

 

Mountain White Bread
You will need:

3/4 cup lukewarm water
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 tsp sugar
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon  salt  (if you use salted butter I would cut it down to 3/4 tablespoon salt)
1 1/2 cups lukewarm milk (around 105 degrees)
5 1/2 to 6 cups  all purpose flour

1. Mix your active dry yeast, sugar and water together in the large bowl you intend to make the bread in, stir gently and set aside to proof. In 10 minutes if your yeast mix is foamy then you are good to go.
2. In a separate bowl mix your  honey, butter (melt your butter first), salt ,milk and 1 cup of your flour
3. When your yeast mix is foamy add the milk and butter mixture to it . If you are doing it by hand, whisk it together.  If you are using a mixer,  I recommend a  low setting.
4. Add the rest of your flour to the mixture slowly, 1 cup at a time.
This bread requires a great deal of kneading, so once you have a nice smooth dough continue kneading for  another 5 or 6 minutes.
5. Put dough in  large, lightly oiled bowl, cover loosely with plastic wrap or a wet clean towel  and allow to rise in a warm place for 1 1/2  to 2 hours.
6. When dough has risen to double in  size, remove from bowl and knead for about 5 more minutes.
7 . Split dough in half , shape into  loaves and place in oiled bread pans.
8. Make a 1/4  inch slit down middle of  dough and put in warm place to rise for  about 45 minutes.
9. Preheat oven to 375
10. Place on middle rack and bake for 45 minutes  or until bread is golden brown.  (mine was done in 30 minutes so keep an eye on it.)

Here are  some pretty pictures, I wanted you to be able to see the texture!