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).

Indian Fry Bread

My daughter called for this recipe this afternoon. I thought I'd post it now, since it is already typed for sending in an e-mail.

I made this often when she was growing up. I still make it once in awhile. The recipe is inexpensive and makes a wonderful treat on a cool day. You just have to watch the little ones when frying and yourself (ask me how I know...ouch!).

Indian Fry Bread

4 C. flour
5 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 C. sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 package yeast (1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons bulk yeast)
2 C. warm water

Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Add the water, work into flour mixture.

Pat the dough into approx. 1" thicknesses (any thicker and it doesn't cook in the middle) - use extra flour to avoid stickiness. Cut dough with 3" biscuit cutter.

Heat oil and when hot, fry pieces of dough until brown. Turn and fry the other side.

Do not let oil get too hot or bread will cook on the outside and be doughy on the inside.

Drain and immediately toss in either conf. sugar or a cinnamon-sugar mixture. (Or, it can be left plain and served with butter and jelly.)

There is no rising time in this recipe. They "puff" in the hot oil.

Note:  Recipe was from a newspaper article about the Feast of the Hunter's Moon.