Corn Chowder and Crusty Onion Bread

This meal reminds me of my grandmother because she can make even the most simple meal taste delicious. If you tasted my grandmother's corn chowder, I'm sure you would say it's the best you've ever eaten. Make the meal count and make it taste good, I think that's what my grandmother has instilled in me.

Corn Chowder
5 large potatoes
1 large onion
1 large can of cream of corn
1 can of 2% can milk
2 bay leafs
pot herbs
a chunk of cheddar (optional) I didn't add this as my husband is following a low fat diet)

Peel the potatoes (I leave the skins on some) and dice. Boil the potatoes until tender but not mushy then drain. Saute onions in a small amount of oil until they're soft and transparent. Add the onions, creamed corn, can milk, pot herbs, bay leaves into the pot with the potatoes and warm on stove. If your using cheddar, add to the pot a few minutes before serving to allow for it to melt. Stir often because canned milk burns easily.

Crusty Onion Bread
2 1/4 cups of water
1/2 package of onion soup mix
2 tablespoons of shortening or oil ( I used only 1 tbs of olive oil)
1 tablespoon of sugar
1 teaspoon of salt (I omitted this as there is already lots of salt in the soup mix)
5 1/2 cups - 6 cups of flour (will vary depending how humid the day is, it was more like 4 1/2 cups the day I made it.)
1 package active dry yeast
cornmeal
1 slightly beaten egg white
1 tablespoon of water.

In saucepan combine the water and soup mix, cover and simmer for 10 mins. Stir in oil, sugar, and salt. Allow it to cool ( I waited until it was lukewarm because if your water is too hot it will kill the yeast).

In a large bowl combine 2 1/2 cups of the flour, the yeast, and onion mixture. Beat it hard until it smooth- you may use an electric mixer. Stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can using a spoon. Then turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead in more of the remaining flour and knead the dough until it is elastic (about 6-8 mins). Shape the dough into a ball, it should look like the second photo at this point).
Place it in a lightly greased bowl and cover the bowl with a damp tea towel. Allow it to rise until it's doubled in size (about an hour). Punch down, and cut dough in half and allow it to rest for 10 mins. Shape the dough into 2 round loaves and place on a baking sheet that has been sprinkled with cornmeal. Let it rise again until it is almost double in size (keep it covered with the tea towel. With a sharp knife, make diagonal cuts across the bread. Bake it in a 375 degree oven for 20 mins. Then brush it with the egg/water mixture and continue to bake for 10 more minutes. The egg mixture gives the bread the shinny coating.