White Bread – Bread Machine and Oven

I love having a bread machine since it does all the kneading and rises for you, but I just hate that once it bakes it has a giant hole in the bottom from the kneading paddle.   I looked through a cookbook I have and found a method that I could combine with my bread machine to make my dough and bake it in loaf pans to prevent that hole in the middle.  As my 2 year old would say, “Score!”

This recipe makes 2 1lb loves (or if you just want to use your machine, one 2lb loaf).

  • 1 1/4 cups water (80*F)
  • 3 Tbsp oil (you can olive oil or even apple sauce to make this soy free!)
  • 3 Tbsp sugar
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 4 cups bread flour (you can use AP, but bread flour works best)
  • 2 tsp yeast, warmed to room temp.   I use Fleishman’s bread machine yeast that’s in the refrigerated section.

Warm you yeast to room temperature.  Place all the ingredients into the machine in the order suggested by your bread machine’s manufacturer.  Use the dough setting.  When the machine is finished, punch down the dough and divide it into equal portions.  I use my kitchen scale to weigh them out.

Grease your loaf pans.  I use olive oil rubbed around with a paper towel to keep this soy free, but you can use spray oil.  Using a rolling pin and a floured surface, roll each ball into a rectangle no wider than your loaf pan.  Rolling out the dough squeezes out all the air bubbles that can create holes in your loaf.   Roll the dough up jelly roll style starting with the short side and place seam side down in your greased pan.  Repeat for 2nd loaf.

You want to let your bread rise in a warm place until it’s the size you want it to be (I usually go to just above the edge of the pan.)  Since we keep our house cooler in the winter and spring I end up warming my oven slightly (to about 80*) and putting my towel covered loaf pans in to warm.  It takes about 1 1/2 – 2 hours to rise completely.  I check my ovens temp every half hour or so just to make sure it’s still warm.

When the rise is complete, remove loaves from oven, if using it, and preheat to 375*F.  Bake for 30 mins and let cool in pans on wire racks.  Remove from the pans by sliding a knife around the edges and cool completely before storing.

Loaves freeze well.  I end up making 2 loaves and freezing 1.  I just use a gallon size freezer bag.  It comes out just as fresh as when it was made.  I store all bread in the refrigerator in a gallon freezer bag and cut slices as needed.

Enjoy!

Food for Friday! 3/12 – 3/25

Monday – BLT’s on homemade bread and homemade sweet potato fries (or bacon and eggs for the kids)
Tuesday – Craft Night -Leana’s Turn to cook – Hamburger Helper for the boys
Wednesday – Homemade pepperoni pizza
ThursdayItalian Chicken Bake with roasted potatoes, carrots and green beans and side salad
Friday –  Spaghetti with homemade sauce and homemade meatballs
Saturday –  Skinny Chicken Parm over Angel Hair pasta
Sunday
– Leftovers/FFY

Monday – Homemade chicken cordon bleu with mashed potatoes and corn on the cob
Tuesday – Craft Night – Rose’s turn to cook – Mini Meatloaves for the boys
Wednesday – Turkey Burgers, homemade fries, and veggies
Thursday – Game Night – Coconut curry with rice and broccoli
Friday – Pork Chops, rice and mixed veggies
Saturday – Leftovers/FFY
Sunday – Leftovers/FFY

Food for Friday! 2/27 – 3/11

So, this is a couple days late…I was having some issues with my computer and wordpress not working well together on Friday when I was attempting to write this.  I figured I’d bang this out quick while waiting for my yeast to warm up so I can make the bread for tonight’s Craft Night meal.  lol

I’ve been on a homemade, from scratch kick lately since I’ve been cutting out the soy and artificial and natural flavors and trying to avoid most preservatives/additives if I can.  I’ve been making homemade bagels (it’s not as hard as it sounds!), fresh baked white bread, and I even made homemade meatballs and froze them for later meals!  I also discovered (for those of you who don’t want to or don’t have time to make your own breads at home) that our grocery store offers a brand of bread from The Heidelburg Baking Company that is soy free and free of all those additives and preservatives! (It says right on the package it should be refrigerated.)  They offer flax seed, multigrain, oat, cracked wheat and even a French Peasant bread!  At my Price Chopper, they run about $4.50 a loaf (roughly 2.99/lb).  I haven’t tried them, but it is available, which is nice!

Oh, I did find, in my grocery store travels, that there is a brand of brownie mix called No Pudge!  I tried the Original flavor, which is fat free (bonus) and contains nothing but good stuff..no additives or preservatives!  There are other flavors, but check the ingredients!  You just add 2/3 of cup of yogurt (I used 1/2 of a cup of Stonyfield’s No Fat French Vanilla (6oz container) and an egg white since I didn’t have enough yogurt – this is an alternate direction on the box.)  I’m sure you could probably use some strawberry yogurt and a little vanilla to make different flavors.

And, since I’m a chocolate lover and avoiding the soy lecithin in chocolate has been tough, I’ve been searching high and low for something chocolate without all the extra crap.  I stumbled over a brand of chocolate bars in the organic section from a  co-op company called Equal Exchange.  I’ve only tried their dark chocolate with a hint of hazelnuts and OMG!  It’s so good and doesn’t bother my tummy!  ❤  Love!  Plus, I get to eat 8 squares at a time for a serving and that gives me 3 servings per bar!  It is expensive, but I’m finding that the safe foods and the additive free ones are.  I just have to suck up the cost if I want to be happy!  lol

Monday – Rotisserie Chicken, oven roasted potatoes and fresh broccoli
Tuesday – Craft Night – My turn to cook – BLT’s on homemade white bread
Wednesday – Tacos – with homemade seasoning
Thursday – Chicken pot pie with leftover chicken
FridaySalisbury steak, mashed potatoes and veggies
Saturday –  FFY/Leftovers
Sunday – Baked Ziti

Monday – Double batch of Chili
Tuesday – Craft Night – Rose’s turn to cook – Hamburger Helper for the boys at home
WednesdayFrito pie made with leftover chili
Thursday – Homemade vegetable soup
Friday – Spaghetti with homemade sauce and homemade meatballs
Saturday –  FFY/Leftovers
Sunday – FFY/Leftovers