Roman Meal Bread

And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live. ~ Deuteronomy 8: 2-3 (KJV)

I know the verse says, "...man doth not live by bread only," but this bread is so wholesome and good that you almost could live on it--in carb heaven. Roman Meal cereals and breads used to be produced in Washington State, but has limited distribution now. If you want the bread to turn out perfect, then by all means order the cereal from the website; otherwise, you can substitute Zoom or some other whole grain cereal in its place. I would love to hear from those of you who cook gluten free and if it would be possible to convert this recipe to accommodate that.

This recipe was given to Grandma by two gentlemen who ran one of the most popular hair salons in our town many years ago. All the older ladies got their hair done there, including Grandma. She loved Dale and Tom and always remembered them on their birthdays and during the holidays.

I was intrigued by Dale's beautiful handwriting. It was like art on notebook paper! This is his original recipe and--if you would like to try the recipe out--the cut and paste version follows. What a great comfort food to accompany your meal on a cold fall day!

 

Roman Meal Bread

4 ½ cups flour
1 ½ cups Roman Meal cereal
½ cup sugar
2 packages active dry yeast
4 tsp salt
2 ½ cups warm water
3 Tbsp oil

In large mixing bowl stir together flour, cereal, sugar, yeast and salt. Add water and oil, stirring until thoroughly mixed. The dough will be stiff and elastic. Cover dough and let rise at room temperature for one-half hour. Beat dough about 25 strokes. Divide dough in half and spread evenly in two well-greased (8½ x 4½) loaf pans. Cover and let rise another ½ to 1 hour until nearly double in size. Bake at 400F for 45 minutes or until loaf is well browned. Remove from pans and cool on rack.