Who among us did not become an amateur bread baker at some point in the pandemic? I borrowed my mom's Breadman Plus (thank you, the 90s) in the move and it's taken up permanent residence on the floor of our kitchen. Is it small? No. Is it quiet? No. Does it make homemade-enough bread with five minutes of active effort? Awww yeah.
Armed only with my "Bread Machine Cookbook", King Arthur Bread Flour, and an accidental purchase of about 86 yeast packets, I've made at least a dozen loaves in the past year. Still-warm bread is actually a great gift, assuming the recipient owns a bread knife. Unlike the store-bought variety, homemade (or machine made) bread does not come sliced, or bagged for that matter. This, and its short shelf-life, may be its only disadvantage.
For midnight snacking --- I mean sandwiches, I make a standard Italian loaf, but for something special, the (cinnamon) oatmeal bread and french honey breads can't be beat.There is just no comparison between even a subpar bread machine loaf and literally anything you will get at the supermarket. No preservatives, just tasty, tasty, carbogoodness. And it's very nearly foolproof! Just measure, add ingredients, and hit a button! (Is this very quickly becoming a blog about how lazy of a baker I am? Perhaps.)
Readers who have made bread from scratch and bread machine bread, what do you see as the biggest differences? Do you prefer one over the other?
Here are my favorite recipes; I usually make a medium loaf. (Please disregard the ingredient stains on the pages!)
Italian Bread
(medium loaf, basic cycle)
Water: 1-1/4 cups + 2 tablespoons
Sugar: 1-1/2 tsp.
Salt: 1/2 tsp.
Bread flour: 3 cups
Yeast: 2 tsp. (a little less than one full packet, if you're using packets)
Excerpted from The Bread Machine Cookbook by Donna Rathmell German. Get a used copy from $2 on Amazon.
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