Have you ever used a bread machine to make bread? I have not. Not personally. Well, not before. But, I can now! And I am very excited about it.
While I do enjoy baking, I am not very experienced with bread baking. Somehow, that was never interesting to me. So I stuck to the sweets, not the savory. Earlier this year, I finally made some bread in a dutch oven, with expired yeast. And you know what? It was actually not too bad. Not being a bread connoisseur, it might have been terrible. I was just pleased to be able to remove something from the oven that was not dough. After that, I made more dutch oven bread. I ended up making several loaves, actually.
That started a bit of a trajectory for me, which ultimately lead to a bread machine entering my kitchen.
Now I am making bread with even less effort than I ever thought possible. It is fantastic. The bread is fantastic. It is a good time.
The Machine
My bread machine is new to me. Sort of. But it is not new. When my mom had the opportunity to upgrade to a newer bread machine, she gave me her old one. And what an absolute treat it has been. Since time is at a premium, I have never been happier to be able to add ingredients to the mixing pan and blissfully forget about the whole thing. Until the pleasant (very loud) beep alerts me it is bread-o-clock. Nice.
The Recipes
Along with the machine, I was gifted three recipes:
- White Bread. A classic, simple bread recipe. Basic, but a favorite all the same.
- Herb Bread. Very loaded with herbs. Very fun.
- French Honey Loaf. This one calls for olive oil, which I was not expecting.
I have made all of them, to much success and joy. The grilled cheese game has seriously improved around here. And so have the toast and the sandwhiches.
Outlook
I am curious to learn more bread machine recipes.
- What else can a bread machine achieve?
- What other ingredients work well in bread?
- How does fancy flour change the game?
While purusing baking resources for inspiration, I saw one recipe for a lovely onion dill bread. I also saw a few recipies claiming to contain the secrets to bake your own copycat restaurant breads.
Achieving restaurant-quality bread at home seems difficult, but I am “bready” for the challenge.