Sunday, February 11, 2007

My favorite bread machine bread recipe


This has been my "go to" bread recipe since I received my bread machine as a Christmas present (a very long time ago). I tweak the ingredients by who I'm making the bread for and what I'm going to use it for. If it is for my husband (who slices the bread and freezes it, getting out only enough for breakfast each day), I make it 100% freshly ground whole wheat. My son and I like it best half-whole wheat and half-King Arthur bread flour. For cinnamon rolls, I like to make it with three cups bread flour and one cup whole wheat flour. (I rarely make it with all white flour.)

If I'm using it to make a sweeter, richer, dough (for cinnamon rolls or to make dinner rolls), I use milk instead of water and use butter instead of oil. When I do this, I warm the milk up and then add the butter and honey to the warm milk to mix well.

As with any bread machine recipe, all ingredients should at least be room temperature (if not warmed a bit in the Winter).

This makes one loaf of bread or ten to twelve cinnamon rolls (if allowed to rise fully).

Whole Wheat Honey Bread (also cinnamon rolls)

1 Cup and 2 T. water (just slightly above the 1 C. line)
4 Cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 Cup honey (or a little less, or brown sugar)
2 T. shortening (I use mild olive oil or butter)
1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

Place water, salt, honey and shortening in machine pan. Add flour and then sprinkle the yeast on top.

Put on dough cycle, will take 1 ½ hours until finished. Take out of bread machine, mold into a loaf, put in greased loaf pan. Let rise until slightly over the top of the loaf pan, slash a few times on top. Bake 30-35 min. at 350 degrees.
If making cinnamon rolls: Roll out into a rectangle, brush melted butter on the dough (except about an inch at the bottom so it seals well), sprinkle with cinnamon and "rub" the cinnamon into the butter to cover the dough (leaving about an inch at the bottom clean), sprinkle with brown sugar, pat the sugar into the dough, roll up, cut into about one inch slices. Place slices in two 9" cake pans (or whatever you have, I've also put them all in a 9 x 13 dish) and let rise about 30 min..longer in cold weather.
Place into preheated 350 degree oven and bake 12-15 minutes or until golden on top. Let cool a bit and frost with frosting: 1/2 to 1 stick butter-room temp mixed with 3 cups confectioners sugar. Add just enough milk until you get the consistency you like (I like mine thinner than I'd use to frost a cake but not so thin it becomes a glaze).

5 comments:

Mrs. Darling said...

That looks yummy. I use my brad machine for a dinner loag once in a while but otherwise I make my bread by uses of the kitchen aid and shape and bake my own loaves. I like the texture beter.

Heather Anne said...

I would like to learn to grind my own wheat as you do. I have a medium duty Kitchen Aid stand mixer - a pale relative of your 'my precious' and I was wondering if you use the grinding attachment for it or if you use a seperate machine or do you do it by hand somehow. I have a freezer full of whole wheat flour my mum brings from Canada because I can't bake with most American flour I have tried - the hardness of the whaet is off and there are so many additives in flour here. She buys me the 22 kg bags and I keep them frozen until I fill my baking jars in the pantry. It is ground very finely and works well for me, but I like fresh ground flours very much too.

Brenda@CoffeeTeaBooks said...

I always bake the bread separately now, also for a better texture.

Heather, I have a separate machine although I've heard the Kitchen Aid grinder does a pretty good job.

My daughter missed having freshly ground whole wheat flour so much that a wheat grinder was one of her first major purchases after getting married!

I expect it would be good for you since it would probably be easier to store the Canadian wheat than the flour.

Anonymous said...

I made this yesterday and really liked it. That is saying alot since wheat bread is not usually one of my favorites. :) I am trying to like it and this was a great start. I did 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour and will increase a bit next time. Thanks for sharing this!

Bonnie said...

Thank you, Brenda!! I am in DC on my trip, but wouldn't miss reading your Saturday post. I hope to try this recipe when I am home.