Bread Baking -101

I love homemade bread.  Warm just out of the oven slathered with butter.  Yummy.  I broke out my bread machine yesterday and vowed to start making my own bread again.  I went through a phase of making bread at least once a week, then for reasons that were completely in my control…laziness…I stopped and the bread machine sat on the top shelf of my pantry for close to a year.

I pulled it down, dusted it off,  pulled out my favorite/easiest recipe and marveled as the bread machine went to work, mixing, kneading, rising and baking all in 3 hours while I let it.  How does it do that?  It is probably the only thing in this house that does exactly what it is told to do.  All I had to do was dump the ingredients in the pan…in order...I forgot how easy it was.  Noisy yes,  but still very easy.  And the smell, oh the aroma of baking bread…sublime.  Some may call it cheating, using a bread machine and that’s just fine, if it gets me what I want at the end, perfect! I never proclaimed to be an Artisian Baker…I just like spending lots of time in the kitchen making and learning as much as I can…Everyday I’m in the kitchen I learn something new!

Very East White Bread

1 ½ teaspoons instant yeast


3 tablespoons granulated sugar


 3-½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour


1/4  cup dry milk, non-fat powder


1 ½ teaspoons salt


1-¼ cups warm water

4 tablespoons butter or margarine, cut into pieces

Place the ingredients in the pan of your machine in the order indicated. Place the pan in the machine.  Use the basic white bread setting for a 2lb loaf and light crust.  Let the machine do the rest.

 

White Breakfast Bread

1-1/2 tablespoons butter

1 ½ teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons sugar


1 ¼ cups warm water


3 ¾ cups all-purpose flour


1 ½ tablespoons dry milk or nonfat dried milk
powder

1 ½ teaspoons instant yeast

Place all of the ingredients into the bread machine pan in the order indicated.  Making sure that the yeast does not come in contact with the liquid.  This is especially important if you are using a delayed or programmed start for the machine.  Use the basic white bread setting for a 2lb loaf and light crust.

It’s All Delicious Notes:  I made both of these and there really wasn’t any noticeable difference at all.  The first recipe I made during the day and the second one was great for the delay setting so we had fresh bread in the morning. 

To get the loaf out of the pan easily; while still warm I turn the paddle from underneath back and forth a few times.  The loaf releases without a problem and without a big chunk taken out of the bottom…if you have a bread machine, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about!

Recipes adapted from King Arthur Flour website

Comments

[maille]

Bread machine!? Come now, you can't 101 with a machine. That's more like 404.

[sally]

Or a kitchen 911...bring in the professionals!