I love homemade bread, but I don’t often have the patience to make it entirely by hand. I’m also not in love with the stuff that comes out of bread machines. It’s too dense and too dry, and it’s often crumbly. But, I’m on an extra tight budget this month, so I got out the bread machine in lieu of buying bread.
Tip 1: I experimented a bit, and discovered that adding a little extra water (or a little less flour), omitting the powdered milk that most recipes seem to call for, substituting olive oil for butter, and upping the salt a bit, results in an airy, moist bred with a crisp crust. Very nearly delightful.
The only problem–and it’s a minor one–is that the initial blending needs a little bit of assistance. Because of the increased ratio of water:flour, the paddle won’t be able to gather everything together into a ball on its own. A couple of minutes with a wooden spoon, pushing flour from the corners toward the moving paddle, is all it takes to get things on track. After the dough comes together, the paddle should be able to knead it on its own.
Tip 2: When making whole wheat bread in the bread machine, stop the machine after the first knead/rest period, then restart the cycle from the beginning. The extra kneading will help develop the gluten, and will result in a softer, less crumbly bread.
red paper boat 