Is your bread machine collecting dust? Time to dust it off and get it producing yummy bread products for your family.
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My family loves fresh bread. Not only does it taste better than store bought, but it is healthier and less expensive than store bought.
Money Saving Mom estimates baking your own bread saves you at least $156 to as much as $260 a year. The Frugal Girl estimates it saves .50 cents a loaf to bake your own, and that is just if you buy the cheapest loaf in the store (I know this bread lover wouldn’t).
I use our bread machines (yes we have more than one) almost every day, and because of that I have friends asking me all the time to share my recipes. After spending 20 to 30 minutes jumping from place to place all over the web to share all my favorite recipes from their various sources with the last friend who asked me a light bulb went off in my head, why not create a page here on Snail Pace Transformations that could act as a resource for those looking for great bread machine recipes as well as tips for beginners.
Bread Machine Recipes My Family Has Tried & Loved
Below is the list of recipes my family currently bake up regularly in our home. Under the linkable title (meaning if you click on the blue words will take you directly to the recipe) is what adaptations our family makes to the recipe to make it more to our liking.
Jack’s Bread: Bread Machine White Bread
A great bread to serve warm smothered in butter beside a bowl of crock-pot beef stew.
Bread Machine Stuffed Pizza Bread
No alterations
Pizza Dough
No alterations.
Every Day Wheat Bread
I add 1 tbsp vital wheat gulten to this recipe as I found it did not rise well without it. I also often replace the cup of unbleached bread flour with white wheat flour for a slightly more filling bread (hey I have 3 children who eat like horses I have to fill them up somehow).
Ham and Cheese Pocket Dough
I like making these with 1 cup white wheat flour and two cups unbleached flour. My family finds the less doughy that way. I keep a small bowl of water handy when I am filling them and then use my finger to slightly wet the ends and seal them with a fork. Most times I just make the recipe into one big pocket and slice it up.
Go ahead an play around with the fillings we like them with peperoni and sausage.
Hamburger or Hotdog buns
No alterations
Dinner Rolls
I noticed when I last shared this recipe with a friend that I have been using 1 cup warm water instead of 1 cup warm milk, and well since I get a tonne of compliments on these dinner rolls I am not going to switch. I use 1/2 wheat and 1/2 unbleached flour in mine.
Cinnamon Rolls
These freeze really well. Just cut them up as normal and then place them on a lightly grease cookie sheet. Put the sheet in the freezer. Once they are frozen solid take them off the trays and place in a freezer safe container or bag. Take them out the night before and place them in a 9 by 12 pan. Let them thaw in your cool oven until morning. Then cook as normal.
Bread Sticks
If we have any leftovers of these, which is rare, we like to split them open and fill them with cheese and bake them at 350 until the cheese melts and serve them that way.
Pretzel Bites
I use white wheat flour in this recipe instead of whole wheat.
Focaccia Bread
No alterations
Additional Recipe Ideas
I also have a bread machine Pinterest board where I pin new recipes I want to try. Just remember what is on the board I may not have tried yet so I cannot vouch for how they taste. (as I try them if I love them they will end up on the list above)
Bread Machine Recipe Books
The Bread Lover’s Bread Machine Cookbook is a great reference book for bread machine owners full of 300 recipes it covers more than just bread making. Did you know you can even make jams and jellies in your bread machine? There are recipes for them in this book. (please note your bread machine must have a jam setting to be able to use these recipes)
Bread Machine Ingredients
Types of Flour
When a friend gets a bread machine for the first time and I start talking types of flour their eyes start to get big most had no idea there were so many types.
1. Unbleached All Purpose Flour
I refer to this as white flour, because I was raised on it. However, I know for most people white flour is bleached.I find unbleached all-purpose flour substitutes for bread flour just fine in bread machine recipes.
2. White Wheat Flour
White wheat flour contains more nutrients than unbleached as well as more fiber. Our family uses it when making a recipe where 100% unbleached seems too doughy to us, but adding wheat seems too grainy to some of our family members (insert hubby here). It seems to add that perfect touch of firmness to otherwise doughy dough. I find a good compromise is to do a 1/3 white wheat to 2/3 unbleached in an otherwise unbleached flour recipe like pizza dough and hamburger buns.
3. Whole Wheat Flour
Whole Wheat Flour is more nutrient dense than white wheat flour. I personally prefer it as I find it satisfies my hunger for longer.
4. My Dream Flour
My dream flour. From the research I have done the way to get the most nutrients out of bread is to grind the seeds yourself right before you make it. I have yet to try it but I bet freshly ground wheat berries would make for some seriously great bread.
Of course to grind it I would need…
A wheat grinder. And I don’t have the hubby sold on one yet, well at least not on a brand new one now if I found one at a yard sale or on Craig’s list he might budge.
Yeast
Do not buy those tiny over priced individual packets of yeast at the store (unless you live in triple coupon land and you can get them for pennies or for free) , the same stuff is in the glass jars for much less ( I use 3tsp of yeast per batch) .
In fact once you are hooked on making your own bread you are going to want to change over to buying yeast in 1lb vacuum sealed packages. I save around $60 a year on yeast buying it in these bags as opposed to the glass jars (remember I make a double batch of some type of dough almost every day of the week).
I store my yeast in the freezer as it stays more active when stored at a cool temperature. You can also put it in the fridge.
Vital Wheat Gluten
Gluten has gotten a bad rap in the press lately. You can leave it out if you wish but if you like your bread tall and fluffy, you are going to want it in your recipe. I put 1 tablespoon in those recipes that call for it and leave it out of most that don’t call for it.
Coarse Kosher Salt
Coarse Kosher salt is what you are going to want to sprinkle on your homemade pretzels. Or coat them in a bit of melted butter and then sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on top if you desire a sweet fix (1tbsp cinnamon to 2 tablespoons granulated sugar makes a great cinnamon sugar mix)
Bread Machine Supplies
Bread Machine
If you are completely new to the world of bread machines and have yet to buy one, I suggest you buy a used one. I got both of my bread machines at yard sales one was $10 and the other was $15. They have both lasted several years so far.
Other places to look for inexpensively priced bread machines would be Craig’s list or thrift stores.
If you are looking for a brand recommendation I currently have both a Breadman and a Sunbeam and have been equally pleased by both (please note the links are newer models than the ones I have).
Baking Pans
I don’t bake my bread in the bread machine I prefer to take it out shape it and then place it in my medium sized metal bread pans and allow it to rise for 30 minutes before baking.
For our pizzas we have tried a pizza stone and a metal pizza pan and have decide that since our family likes a crisp bottom to our crust we prefer a metal pan.
Bread knife
If you don’t already have one you are going to want a good bread knife. You do not want a poorly made knife as this tool will be used daily on your homemade bread and will make the difference between a hacked-up loaf and nice and a nice and evenly sliced loaf.
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