Bread Machine, Can't live without it...okay, won't live without it!

Oster 5838 ExpressBake Breadmaker

I live for my silly bread machine. Years ago before I had children I would make our bread by hand. When I had my first child I realized that this could not go on like this. Hubby bought me a breaqd machine. Very sweet of him but I never used it. The loaves were shaped funny, I couldn't get the recipe perfect and I was used to the feel of making it m=by hand. There is something so therapeutic about kneading dough and taking it from almost liquid form to a solid ball of dough.

About a year later I had my second child. It was then impossible to make bread by hand. So out came the bread machine. After many, many, many tries at this I finally found a loaf of bread that we all like. I now use my bread machine just about every other day to make bread for the family and once a week to make pizza dough. I am going to try and make some quick breads in it next.

This is the one that I own. Oster 5838 ExpressBake Breadmaker, it is my second one. The first one, same model and all, fell off the counter during the knead cycle. When I had to buy a new one I looked at all of the other makes and models but decided to get this one again. I loved how it worked and knew everything about it already!

Easy Whole Wheat Peasant Bread

For a 1-1/2 pound loaf

Ingredients:

1-1/8 cups water
2 Tbsp Olive Oil

3-1/4 Cup Bread Flour
1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
2 tsp vital gluten
2 tsp sugar
1-1/2 tsp kosher salt

2-1/2 tsp bread machine yeast

Directions:

This all gets added to you machine at once. This machine has the liquids in first then all of the dry ingredients with the yeast going into a well made in the dry ingredients.

Helpful hints-in the first 10 minutes watch your dough ball. The dough needs to be dry enough to clean the outsides of the pan but still wet enough to not be knocking in the the pan. You can add more water or flour as needed but only until the beep goes in the second cycle.

Best Regards,

Judy