Thursday, January 6, 2011

Easy Peasy Homemade Bread

One of my loopies sent me this recipe for bread. trying it later today or first thing tomorrow.

In the bread machine pan mix 1 cup of warm water, 3 tablespoons of sugar and 1/4 oz. of active dry yeast (1 packet, or 2.25 teaspoons). Allow 10 minutes for the yeast to activate. Do it this way even though it is contrary to your machine's recommendations. (Just trust me, ok?????) After 10 minutes has passed, add 1/4 cup of vegetable oil (I use canola), 1.5 teaspoons of salt, and 3 cups of any combination of white and wheat flour (I use 2 cups white + 1 cup wheat- you can go as much as half and half. More white is ok, more wheat will mess with your yeast). Set your machine for a 1.5 pound dough cycle. When the cycle is finished set your bread- I use two loaf pans, but two free-form loafs are fine too. Raise for about an hour until double in size. Bake 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees until top is lightly brown and loaves sound hollow when tapped with your fingernail.

That's it! It is important to do it in the order stated here- I stubbornly added the ingredients in the order my machine manufacturer recommended the first time and it wasn't nearly as good. Best bread EVER!

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