Wintertime is soup and homemade bread time at my house. There is nothing more comforting to have good smells wafting from the kitchen on a cold winter’s day. I will admit that I have never mastered the whole kneading and rising process of making bread, instead I opt for using my trusty bread machine. After all, it’s still homemade in my book!
Country White Bread – 1 1/2 pound loaf
½ – 5/8 cup water
5/8 cup milk
1 ½ Tablespoons butter or margarine
3 Tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 cups bread flour
1 1/2 teaspoons Active Dry Yeast
1. Place all ingredients in bread pan, using the least amount of liquid listed in the recipe. Select Medium Crust setting and press START.
2. Observe the dough as it kneads. After 5 – 10 minutes, if it appears dry and stiff, or if your machine sounds as if it’s straining to knead it, add more liquid 1 tablespoon at a time until dough forms a smooth, soft , pliable ball that is slightly tacky to the touch.
3. After the baking cycle ends, remove bread from pan, place on cake rack, and allow to cool 2 hour before slicing.
For more bread machine recipes, check out these books:
The bread lover’s bread machine cookbook: a master baker’s 300 favorite recipes for perfect-every-time bread, from every kind of machine by Beth Hensperger
Biggest book of bread machine recipes.
Bread machine magic: 138 exciting new recipes created especially for use in all types of bread machines by Linda Rehberg
The breadman’s healthy bread book: use your bread machine to make more than 100 delicious, wholesome breads by George Burnett
