I love bread!

The first installment of my blog is dedicated to my favorite food on earth......BREAD!  I'm not talking about wonder bread, or any of that stuff that is mass produced.  I'm talking about real, crusty, chewy bread, made with really good ingredients, no preservatives, and baked with love.

When I was still working, one of my favorite bread places was Great Harvest Bread Company.  They really know how to make high quality, really tasty bread.  It wasn't uncommon that I would stop by there at least once or twice a week to buy a loaf or two of their many varieties.  At four dollars plus a loaf, these purchases were the first thing to be eliminated once I lost my job and had to cut down on my food spending.  Although I could no longer afford their bread, I wasn't willing to give up that level of quality.  Thus began my love affair with my bread maker.

I have my mom to thank for getting me started in the world of bread machines, she had one several years before I did.  In fact, she gave me my first one, and I was hooked!  I'm now on my third machine, a Zojirushi Home Bakery Supreme Bread Machine, and I absolutely love it.  It takes less than five minutes to assemble the ingredients for a loaf of bread, and three hours later, warm, fresh, chewy bread!  Now, if you're put off by the $199 pricetag, fear not, there are several other models of bread makers for far less money that will produce a respectable loaf of bread.  My second breadmaker was a Oster 5838 ExpressBake Breadmaker, White, which cost only $68.00.  I used this machine for several years before graduating to the Zojirushi.

Then began my quest for great bread machine bread recipes.  I purchased three bread machine cookbooks, The Bread Machine Cookbook, The Bread Machine Cookbook II (Nitty Gritty Cookbooks), and The Bread Machine Cookbook III (Nitty Gritty Cookbooks), all written by Donna Rathmell German.  These became my bread making bibles.  If you're just getting started with bread machine baking, I highly recommend these titles.

I would be remiss if I didn't post a couple of my favorite recipes.  Here they are!

Honey Bread
Yields a 1.75 to 2 pound loaf

1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
2 TBS vegetable oil
1/3 cup honey
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups old fashioned rolled oats - do not substitute quick or instant oats, you'll be disappointed in the finished product!
3 1/2 cups bread flour
2 1/2 tsp yeast

add all ingredients to the bread pan in the order listed, select the basic cycle, and wait for the yummy bread!

Sweet Raisin Bread
Yields a 2pound loaf

1 1/3 cup lukewarm milk or water
2 TBSP butter
3 TBSP white sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp grated lemon peel
3 cups bread flour
2 tsp yeast
2/3 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

add all ingredients to the bread pan in the order listed, select the basic cycle.  This is a great breakfast loaf, and even makes great peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

Enjoy!