I'm sorta new to making bread... sorta.  I've had a bread machine for years, and I pull it out now and then to bake a fresh loaf, and I'm usually very dissapointed, so I end up storing it away again until next time I get the whim.  About a month ago, my foreign exchange students informed me that American bread really is the worse bread in the world.  Well, that got the ole bread machine out, and I became determined to find the secret of making really good bread.  Searched the entire web, tried one recipe after another, and tweaked the one I liked the most until I found the secret to light, fluffy sandwich bread with a crisp crust... and it had to taste good too.

Here's what I found works for me, and I didn't find it anywhere on the web... it came to me after throwing out about 3 doz loaves, and over 100 hours in the kitchen the last month.

The White Sandwich Bread Recipe I like:

1 1/3 cups whole milk

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons honey

combine in small bowl, heat in microwave to get it to 100-110 degrees (F)

pour this mixture in the bread machine pan

then Add

4 cups unbleached all purpose flour

2 1/2 teaspoons active yeast

2 teaspoons bread enhancer

(I made my own bread enhancer, I'll post the recipe for that later)

2 teaspoons salt

Close the lid, set machine to dough setting, start.

Stop after 40 minutes.  reset.  Start the dough setting again, and allow to knead again until it finishes.  DO NOT LET THE MACHINE RISE THE DOUGH.

Remove the dough, place in a large oiled bowl covering all sides of dough, cover with plastic wrap.

Allow to rise a full 1-1 1/2 hours in warm place.

Roll it out of bowl onto a floured surface, and mash (don't punch) fold in thirds (top to middle, bottom to top), then bring sides to the middle to meet... pinch together to close ends.

Place seam side down in a buttered 9x5 loaf pan.  Allow to rise fully (1 - 1 1/2 hours)

Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.

My European kids are raving about it, and won't take any other bread in their lunches now.

Today, I made a loaf of multigrain bread using the same recipe except:

I replaced 1 cup of the All Purpose Flour with 1/3 cup Rye, and 2/3 cups Wheat.

I added 1/2 cup sunflower seads at the beginning of the second kneading.

It proofed like a dream, and smells like a peice of heaven... tastes too good to be true.

Now the European kids are trying to decide which one they want in their lunch tomorrow.

After looking online, I agree with what most people say the manual is confusing and isn't very good.

I'm a complete novice with this, so I needed to know where I could go to find receipes that work in my machine.  I assume different machines would require different amounts of ingredients ???

All the receipes I see online don't specify which machine they are for.  Maybe I'm overthinking this too much, and a 2lb loaf is a 2lb loaf and would require the same ingredients regardless of what machine you have ???

Thanks for your help :)

I want to use the "dough" setting to make this olive bread.  At what point in the cycle do I add olives so they are not chopped too fine?

Hi, I am new to the forum, and I've been trying to find something about using bread machine or other bread recipes, leaving OUT the salt !   I need a salt free diet , which is difficult in it's own, but every recipe calls for salt..... I've left it out, and used my Hitachi machine, the bread is good, but didn't seem to rise and be a full size loaf.... is my leaving the salt out the problem ? I also just bought more fresh rapid yeast.......  but I haven't gotten a loaf out of the machine yet, as it's baking now......

I am an experienced home bread baker who routinely bakes artisan breads, whole wheat, multi-grain, and SD rye breads.  I have successfully used my KA, Bosch Universal, or even my Cuisinart for all types of dough.  

After reading King Arthur's Whole Grain cookbook, I was struck by their assertion that when they field-tested three methods for kneading:  bread machine, electric, and hand, the bread machine consistently demonstrated superior results. 

When I bake bread, I incorporate a preferment, autolyse and, depending on the dough, fold and stretch.  I wonder if anyone has had successful experience with a particular type of bread machine.  Having read Amazon bread machine reviews (I always read 5 and 1 star reviews), I am more confused than ever.  I do not necessarily want to bake my bread in a bread machine, but I would enjoy the luxury of being able to program a series of good kneading times.

Thanks,

Diane

I have two ABMs, and have made several varieties of good tasting bread in each.

One big thing that is missing is that wonderful smell of fresh baking bread.

Does anyone know what may cause that?

Thanks!

Could I get a little advice on my next bread machine purchase.   I want to extend the rise time when using sourdough starter.   Are there machines available that allow for extended rises?

Thanks

Mike

Does anyone have a recipe for Zucchini bread made with yeast and in a bread machine?

I had a breadman for years and using a good basic white bread recipe I consistently got a good crusty golden loaf that crunched when you bit into a slice. Now I have a Zo, and although the bread tastes good and  rises well the crust is soft and very pale and when I shake it out of the pan onto a rack the indentations of the rack remain in the crust - it's that soft!  Here is what I have done: I have turned off the pre-heat feature, I have tried the dark crust setting and tried different recipes - even the basic King arthur machine recipe was pale - , but no golden crust. I had to adapt my standard recipe for the size of the pan as the med size was too small and the large too big. For 20 oz of flour and no dried milk - using water, what would be the ideal amounts of the other ingredients to get this otherwise great machine to crisp up the loaf? Or do I use the programmable settings to adjust the bakingtime? But why should I have to do this? Shouldn't a basic setting bake the bread to a golden crust? 

I had adopted a recipe for manually making whole wheat sandwich buns into one that could be made partially in a bread machine.  The original recipe called for 7 - 8 cups of whole wheat flour so I cut the recipe in half in order to use my breadmaker.  I then found "Rogers Best for bread 100% whole wheat flour" which worked out very well.  The store where I purchased the flour was phased out of our town and finding it in other stores is hit and miss at best.  Is there any other way of keeping 100% whole wheat without buying "best for bread 100% whole wheat flour"?

Sorry to be vague.  The recipe I adapted has: 1 cup warm water, 1 egg, 2 tablespoons honey, 2 tablespoons plain yogurt (or unsweetened applesauce), 1 teaspoon salt, 3 1/2 cups "best for bread" wholewheat flour, and 1 tablespoon yeast.  Occasionally I will add about 1/2 cup grated cheese to the recipe or else 50 grams of chopped candied ginger. 

Basically I toss everything in the machine, set it to "dough" and, once it is done I roll the dough out and cut it with a 4" cookie cutter to make 8 buns.  Let raise for 30 minutes and bake for 15 minutes at 375 degrees.  Any ideas would be gratefully appreciated.

Grace