Bread Machine Bread Recipe and 7 Tips for Success

Do you have a bread machine that you never use? Are you looking for a great bread machine bread recipe? I will give you a wonderful recipe and 7 tips to ensure your success in making a bread machine bread you and your family will love. Bread has been a staple in most every home since the beginning of time. It is a simple carbohydrate that is fairly inexpensive and easy to make. Bread takes on the form of many different styles and tastes. There are yeast breads, quick breads, sourdough breads, flatbreads, sweet breads, gluten free breads, breads made from various kinds of flour, the list goes on and on and on. This is a simple yeast bread. It makes a wonderful loaf great for sandwiches. You can modify the recipe in many ways to make it with other kinds of flour or however you wish.  I was so excited when I got my first bread machine, and I was equally disappointed when I used it to make my first loaves of bread from the bread machine recipe in the manual. The bread didn’t rise very high, it was dense, and also had a very dark crust. My goal was to have a home made bread to use for sandwiches. I began tweaking the recipe that I had previously used from the little recipe booklet that came with the bread machine. I eventually found a combination that worked for me and works every time.  My family and I love this bread, I make it weekly and sometimes more often. It is a simple recipe that can be put in the machine in the morning with the timer set and go about your day. Just make sure you schedule in time for the bread to cool about an hour before you plan to serve it; otherwise it will be difficult to slice without pretty much destroying the beautiful loaf.

7 Tips to Ensure Your Success for Bread Machine Bread Recipe

Know your bread machine.

Each bread machine might bake bread a little differently. It is up to each individual how dark they like the crust of their bread. Do a trail run to see how dark the crust is on one of the settings.

We like a lighter crust but not pale. I found that selecting the light crust option and leaving the bread in the machine for a few minutes after the baking is completed gets the crust the color I like. Remember the little oven will remain hot after the cycle completes and that heat will continue to cook the bread. You can experiment to get the best bread machine bread for you and your family.

Know your flour.

 All flour is not the same when it comes to baking. Bread flour works best but you can use all purpose flour if you wish and even whole wheat or combinations of flour. If you do use a different kind of flour you may find you need more or less water. You want the dough to form a soft ball once the machine has finished mixing the first round.If you are new to making yeast bread I suggest sticking with bread flour until you get the hang of it. 

Measurements are important.

Make sure you have a measuring cup with graduated markings that break down into thirds. You will also need a set of measuring spoons. You don’t want to guess at the ingredient amounts. Bread making is a bit of a science, especially yeast breads.

Make sure your yeast is active.

If you have yeast that might be old it may not produce the rise you will need. If you are not sure, there is a simple test you can do to see if your yeast is active. Just place a teaspoon of the yeast in a cup of warm water (around 110 degree Fahrenheit) or it feels warm to the touch like bath water, add a spoon of sugar. In a few minutes you should see lots of bubbles forming. This means your yeast is alive and well and should do a good job for your bread.  I do not recommend using the yeast and water you used in the test in the bread since the yeast will have lost some of its energy. You only have to test the yeast if you are not sure it is still active.

There are different kinds of yeast. 

You will want to use instant yeast or bread machine yeast for this recipe. Just be sure to read the label and get the instant yeast. If you only have dry yeast that must be activated, you will need to alter this recipe to add the yeast and sugar to the water and not on top of the flour. You also would not be able to set the machine on a timed delay if you were to put the yeast and sugar in the water.

Be sure to place the ingredients in the bread machine pan in the correct order and places.

This is especially important if you are going to set the time to bake the bread later. The reason this matters is the yeast is activated when it touches water and has a source of food like sugar or flour. If the yeast is fed too soon before mixing and baking the bread it will not have any energy left to make the bread rise. This is the same reason the type of yeast mentioned above is important.

It will only take a few minutes to load up the bread machine pan with the ingredients, but it will take 3 or more hours for the machine to complete the cycle. You will also need to allow the bread to cool before slicing. I usually make my bread in the morning if I am going to be at home. If I am scheduling the bread to bake while I am away I set it to complete closer to the time I will return home. I have found leaving the bread in the machine too long dries it out and hardens the crust.

Ingredient List for Bread Machine Bread Recipe

1  1/3 cups of warm water

2  ½ teaspoons of sugar (you can also use honey but not artificial sweaters)

2  ½ tablespoons of unsalted butter, cut into small chunks

3 cups of bread flour

1 1/8 salt

3 tablespoons of dry milk

1 ½ teaspoons of instant yeast

Let’s get started making the bread. 

1. Set your bread machine to “white bread”, if you do not see that option, read the machine manual to find out which setting would be best for white bread. The loaf size is 1.5 lbs. Crust setting is up to you, I like the light to medium setting.
2. With the paddle in place in the bread machine pan add in 1 and ⅓ cups of warm water.
3. Cut up the 2 ½ tablespoons of butter into small pieces and drop them into the water. 
4. On top of the water carefully pour in the 3 cups of bread flour. Use a spatula to gently spread the floating flour out on top of the water so that dry flour is covering the surface.
5. In each of the four corners place the remaining ingredients, 1 ⅛ teaspoon of salt, 2 ½ teaspoons sugar, 3 tablespoons of dry milk, 1 ½ teaspoons of yeast
6. Place the pan into the bread machine and start the cycle.

Finishing up.

Once the cycle is completed remove the pan from the bread machine. It will be very hot so be sure to use a potholder. Place a clean tea towel on the counter and gently dump the bread from the pan to the towel, as quickly as possible stand the bread on it’s bottom end to avoid mashing the soft fluffy loaf.

You may or may not have to fish out the paddle of the bread machine from the loaf. Sometimes the paddle will stick inside the loaf. If that happens wait until the bread is cooled before removing it. My paddle stays in the machine but pulls out a bit of bread when I dump it out of the pan. This is normal and nothing to fret over. Some machine will beep to tell you that you can now remove the paddle and avoid this problem all together. Personally, I’m usually off doing something else and just wait until the end to remove it. I have never had anyone complain over the torn bread.

Cover the bread with another tea towel and allow it to cool for about an hour or until it is cool to the touch. At this point you can slice the bread using a serrated knife or an electric knife (my choice) and you can even use a slicing guide to make uniform pieces. I have a guide and I love it.

Eat up.

The only thing left to do is eat up the delicious bread. It is great for sandwiches, toast, or as a side with a meal.

Storing your fresh bread.

This is fresh yeast bread with no preservatives. It will not keep as long as store bought bread and you will need to keep it in an airtight environment if you want it to stay soft. My secret to keeping the bread fresh longer and soft is this:

Place the bread in a 2 1/2 gallon zip lock bag. You can find these handy oversized bags at the grocery store and even at the dollar stores.

Get as much of the air out of the bag as possible. There are a few ways to do this but I’m going to let you get creative and I’m sure you will find a way that works for you.

One more thing I do is take my fresh loaf (before slicing), wrap it in plastic wrap, place it in the 2 1/2 gallon zip bag, remove the air and place it in the freezer overnight. This deactivates the yeast and the bread will stay fresh much longer. When ready to use the bread just remove from the freezer, allow to thaw, slice and eat.