Red River Cereal Bread - 4 loaves

I got this recipe from Nancy Brown, wife of my high-school friend Peter Brown, sometime in the early 1970s. It calls for Red River cereal, a hot cereal containing wheat, rye, and flaxseed. Red River cereal comes from Canada, so it may not be available in your area. I've made the recipe with wheatena, and I'm 100% confident that you can substitute any multigrain hot cereal and make wonderful bread.

Nancy was very firm about the precise amounts of ingredients, and I've recorded them here. I never have been that particular. I'll use 1/2 t of nutmeg instead of 9/16 t, etc. Maybe you could taste a difference if you had two batches side by side, but you'll still love the bread with rounder number measurements.

This bread makes marvelous toast. And when it's baking -- you thought you love the smell of bread baking anyway, but with the cinnamon and nutmeg, this is extra good! It's rather sweet, but works well for peanut butter sandwiches and sardine sandwiches.

One time I brought a loaf of this to work and left it on the table in the lunchroom. Later that day I got a phone call from a woman who said, "Marry me, and bake bread for me."

• 1 1/8 C dry Red River cereal
• 3 C water
• 3 3/8 t salt (gimme a break! 1 T is close enough!)
• 3/8 C stick oleomargarine (that would be 6 Tbsp) (or you could use butter)
• 1 T dry yeast
• 1/2 C warm water
• 1 t brown sugar
• 3/4 C dry milk powder
• 1C brown sugar
• 1C warm water
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/8 t cinnamon
• 9/16 t nutmeg
• 12 C enriched white flour

Mix Red River cereal, 3 C water, and salt in a saucepan; bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. Add margarine and let melt in. Let cool.

Dissolve yeast and 1 t brown sugar in 1/2 C warm water.

Mix dry milk powder, 1 C brown sugar, 4 eggs, 1 C warm water, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add the other two liquid portions. Add 12 C sifted enriched white flour. Knead, let rise, punch down, form four loaves, let rise in loaf pans, bake at 375 degrees about 30 minutes.