Bread Machine Question

I was recently asked by a reader: "I just got a bread machine and would love to know what your favorite recipes are"

I only have a few recipes that made it to my recipe box for bread.  I had previously shared one on the blog for Cranberry Raisin Loaf.  Another one that I am particularly fond of is my Harvest Bread; it's a simple whole wheat bread that also taste very yummy.

Harvest Bread

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cups milk

2 large eggs 

3 tbsp butter

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/3 cup whole wheat flour

2/3 cup wheat germ

1/4 cup brown sugar, or sucanat or panella 

1 tsp kosher salt

1 1/4 tsp bread machine yeast

Directions:
select 2 pound loaf size
whole wheat cycle
place all ingredients in order listed in bread machine

Another favorite bread machine recipe is my Everyday Pizza Dough.

Everyday Pizza Dough

 

Ingrediants

  1 1/3 cups Water
  1 tsp Honey
  2 tsp Kosher Salt
  2 tbsp olive oil
  2 cups whole wheat flour
  2 cups all-purpose flour
  1 tbsp flax seeds
  1 tbsp hemp seeds,  
  1 tsp teff seeds
  1 tsp amaranth seeds
  1 tbsp wheat germ
  2 1/4 tsp bread machine yeast

Direction

Place all ingredients in order listed in bread pan fitted with kneading paddle. Select your machines dough setting and press start. When cycle is finish divide dough in 2 and make your favorite pizza.

We had a few cookbooks over the years and the only one we kept is "Best Bread Machine Recipes" by Better Homes and Gardens.  

 

When it comes to making bread these are some rules I found that almost always work when trying to muck arround with a recipe.

 

• you can always switch out one sugar for another; as long as you keep the same quantity.  For exempple if a recipe calls for a TBSP of sugar you can use a TBSP of honey or sucanate or panella or anything other sugar.
• you can almost always subsitite up to half of the white flour for whole wheat, spelt, kamut or rye flour. Before doing this make sure their is not alread some of these flours in the bread if so you should never have more then 1/2 of the total flour being other then white - unless you add gluten flour.
• you can add up to 1 cup of nuts and seeds (that do not absorbe liquide) to a 2 pound loaf 
• you can add up to 1/4 cup off seeds that absorbe liquide to a 2 pound loaf

Now the rules above will not always work sometimes you will screw up.  I recommend if you are going to change a recipe after the machine has been going for a bit check on your bread you should be able to tell if it's too dry or wet.