It’s simple to follow and perfect for any occasion to make this date and walnut cake. Since it is a really moist loaf cake, cutting and buttering it works wonderfully. It keeps well in an airtight container, but in my house, it never lasts more than a day before it’s all gone.
| Prep Time: | 30 mins |
| Cook Time: | 40 mins |
| Additional Time: | 2 hrs 10 mins |
| Total Time: | 3 hrs 20 mins |
| Servings: | 72 |
| Yield: | 6 – 9×5 inch loaves |
Ingredients
- 2 (0.6 ounce) cakes compressed fresh yeast
- 1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
- 4 cups hot water
- ¾ cup white sugar
- 1 tablespoon salt
- ½ cup shortening
- 15 cups bread flour
Instructions
- In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand 10 minutes.
- In a very large bowl, combine hot water, white sugar, salt and shortening. Stir to dissolve shortening; let cool to lukewarm. Add the yeast mixture and 6 cups of flour; beat well. Stir in the remaining flour, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 15 minutes.
- Lightly oil two large bowls Divide the dough in half and place each half in a bowl; turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
- Deflate dough, form into rounds and let rise again until doubled, about 30 minutes.
- Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into six equal pieces and form into loaves. Place the loaves into six lightly greased 9×5 inch loaf pans. Cover the loaves and let rise until doubled in volume, about 40 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, until loaves are golden brown and bottoms sound hollow when tapped.
Reviews
Super simple to make. The last few cups of flour overwhelmed my kitchen aide mixer but still came out fine. I didn’t have loaf pans so we just made round loaves. Next time I will divide into 12 rounds for bread bowls. Can’t wait.
I made this bread using dry active yeast and let it rise a second time in the bowls and it was so delicious will make this again for sure
Excellent. Only adjustment I made was adding a bit more salt.
I made this recipe. I halved the amount. Used half sugar and half natural Texas honey for the yeast cake. I used real yeast and let this develop with warm water. I used butter that I’d melted as the shortening. I also used butter to brown the crust. This turned out so well.
Perfect for sandwiches
Made exactly like recepie in bread machine. When dough was done thought a little too moist rolled it out and added 1/4 to 1/2 cup of flour kneaded in until I felt it was good. Non sticky. Baked for 27 min. Looks great. Had to tie wife to chair to keep her from cutting it before it cools. Plan on serving with split green pea soup tonight if any bread left.
Wow! Making bread is pretty hit or miss for me so I can’t tell you how happy I am to have found this recipe. It is perfection and works every single time. I’m currently living in Europe and have tried other recipes with fresh yeast, with grossly disappointing results. This dough is so versatile, working great for rolls, loaves, challah or cinnamon rolls. Love love love it, exactly as written.
amazing bread, great for sandwiches and toast, sometimes i make 5 loaves and turn the final amount of dough into basic cinanmon rolls.
Great recipe! followed exactly except for the flour, used only about 10 to 11 cups (all-purpose) and the loaves turned out beautiful and delicious. Thanks for the awesome recipe 🙂
This is a GREAT recipe!! I used two pkg of active dry yeast and started in one cup warm water with a tsp of sugar. I also added 1/4 c. honey, and 1/2 c. safflower oil instead of the shortening. I whisked in 7 cups, then stirred and stirred. I made three large loaves and 6 mini loaves, for those times when a tiny sandwich is just right :). Thanks!!
it is the best tasting bread ever. i can’t make it fast enough. even though it is for a large amount already it still isn’t enough! i substitute the shortening with a 1/3 cup of canola oil. it just makes the whole process a little faster. it doesn’t change the flavor or texture.
This recipe is wonderful!!! It was so easy to make and it freezes up very well too. Thanks so much for sharing it. I make it all the time now 🙂
easy recipe for bread, i made it. i substituted a whole cup of sugar for the 3/4 cups, a stick of butter for the shortning, and poured in a little bit of corn oil. i used two packs of dry yeast in water with a teaspoon of sugar to get it all started. i liked the use of 4 cups of water, it made it very easy to stir in the flour a cup at a time, i blended everything until the blender wouldn’t work it (about 6 or 8 cups of flour) and then started doing it by hand, made for very smooth dough. added a second stick of butter when baking to coat the tops of the rolls so they’d brown real nice. great recipe, thanks for sharing.