It's Bread Machine Time!

My mom mentioned recently that my bread machine was one of the few new appliances that I hadn't tested out yet, and so the other day, I gave it a go...

The bread machine itself does come with an instruction / recipe manual, but I also got an awesome bread machine cookbook as part of the wedding gift.

There are some seriously amazing recipes in this, but for my first try, I stuck with something that looked safe, simple, and traditional: Blue Ribbon Bread Machine Bread.  You can't go wrong with something that earned a blue ribbon, right?

Recipe: (for a 1 pound loaf)
4 tsp. granulated sugar
1 tsp. instant or bread machine yeast
2/3 cup warm water (110 F/ 43 C)
2 1/2 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 cups bread flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt

Add sugar, yeast, and water to the bread pan.  Let stand for 10 minutes or until the yeast begins to bubble.

Add oil.  Spoon flour on top of the liquid.  Add salt.

Select the Basic / White cycle and the Light Crust setting and press Start.

Verdict:  Oh.  My.  Homemade bread smells so good.  I may never buy bread in the store again.  As this particular recipe goes, if I made it again, I would try the Medium Crust setting.  Light was just a bit too light.  It was delicious as a side to spaghetti one night and chili the next.  Very versatile.  I was actually a little nervous when getting started.  I read the manual, and it specifically said to put dry ingredients in first.... and this recipe was the exact opposite.  But I figured I had nothing to lose, and I'm glad I gave it a try.

I am definitely going to start exploring the whole wheat versions in my cookbook since, as a rule, I prefer whole wheat bread to white, but this was a great first attempt in my opinion.  Check out the results of my little baby loaf below!

Turns out that, unlike crock pots, bread machines aren't quite 'fix it and forget it' recipes.  Right before the final rise cycle, the machine beeps, and I had to take the bread pan out and remove the mixing paddle before letting the baking cycle begin.

Cooling on the rack.  I left at this point to run some errands, and the house smelled simply miraculous by the time I returned!