Grandma Cotton baked bread for a living after she was widowed. She passed on the recipe to my mother and it was the source of those wonderful odors from my childhood.
1/4 cup shortening
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 pints water
1 tsp. salt
2 yeast cakes
Flour
Have water warm but not hot. Put in a large bowl; add yeast, sugar and shortening. Mix thoroughly by hand. Mix in enough flour to make good dough. Knead until smooth and elastic. Cover and let rise to double in size. Punch down; shape into loaves; put in pans. Let rise until double in bulk. Bake in a moderate oven 45 min. or until done when tested with toothpick. Remove and brush with butter.