The first fear people have is that when presented with wonderful, homemade bread that they’ll go wild.  They’ll become bread-eating machines.  Who could have restraint when faced with the aroma of baking bread?

The second fear, oddly enough, is that they won’t eat the bread fast enough.  They’re afraid that the bread will go bad before it’s eaten.  Nobody wants to waste time or ingredients.

Let’s deal with these one at a time.

Fear One – I’ll go wild and eat way too much bread.

The fact is that you will go wild.  It will last for two or three loaves of bread.  Then you’ll get used to having homemade bread around the house.  In other words, the effect will wear off.

Don’t get me wrong, you’ll still love the aroma of baking bread.  You’ll enjoy the taste.  You’ll scoff at store bought bread.  You’ll start looking at sandwiches in a whole new way.  You’ll branch out into making hamburger burns and rolls.   But you won’t feel the need to eat bread all day every day.

Fear Two – The bread will go bad before I can eat it all.

Not to worry.  Here’s what you do.  Once the bread is cooled slice the entire loaf at once.  Then put the sliced bread into a Ziplock bag and put the bag into your freezer.

Take the bread out as needed and put into the toaster.  Our toaster can thaw the bread and toast it with one round of toasting.  My parents need to run the bread through the toaster twice.  Either way, it works fine the the bread tastes great.

Raspberry Bread

1/2 cup water
1/2 cup raspberry preserves
1/4 butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons orange zest
3 1/2 cups bread flour
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

Follow the instructions that came with your bread machine in terms of which ingredients to put in the bread machine first.  Use the “light” crust setting.

Because different preserves have different consistencies, it’s a good idea to check on this bread after five or ten  minutes of kneading.  Just pop the top of the bread machine and see how the dough is doing.  It should be a smooth, round ball.  If it’s too dry add liquid a tablespoon at a time until it looks OK.  If it looks too wet,  add flour a tablespoon at a time until it looks OK.  I had to add a little flour to mine.

When the bread is done you’ll have a savory loaf of bread that is great for sandwiches.

Cheese and Onion Bread

1 – 1/8 C. Water
4 – 1/4 C. Bread Flour
1 Tbsp. Sugar
1 – 1/2 tsp. Salt
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 – 1/4 C. Cheddar Cheese, Shredded
1/3 C. Red Onion, minced
2 tsp Yeast

This recipe is for a 2 pound loaf. Follow the instructions that came with your bread machine in terms of which ingredients to put in the bread machine first.

This is a hearty breakfast bread that will hold you until lunch.  It’s also a great way to use overripe bananas.

Banana Oat Bread

2/3 C. Milk
1 Egg
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2/3 C. Mashed Banana
2 teaspoons Salt
3 Tablespoons Sugar
3 C. Bread Flour
1 C. Wheat Flour
1/3 C. Rolled Oats
1/4 C. Raisins
2 1/4 teaspoons Yeast

Follow the instructions that came with your bread machine in terms of which ingredients to put in the machine first.  I cook this using the wheat bread setting.

I had puzzled over how to make hot dog buns with dough from my bread machine. Then I noticed that King Arthur Flour sells a hot dog bun pan.  Here’s how it looks. See all the ridges?

The first step was to make the dough for the buns.

Bread Machine Hot Dog Buns

1 – 1/4 Cups water
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 Egg
3 Cups bread flour
1/4 Cup instant mashed potato flakes
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 – 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons active bread yeast

Add the ingredients to your bread machine as per the machine’s instructions. Use the dough setting.  Turn the dough out on a floured surface and make it into a rectangle shape that will fit into the bun pan. Grease the pan and then add the dough.

Here’s the part that threw me off. It sounds a little strange but what you do next is grease the bottom of clean cookie sheet and put this on top of the pan. The idea is that the cookie sheet will help shape the buns.

Let the dough rise until it’s almost filled the pan. I let it rise for an hour and I think that was a little too much. Next time I’ll check it after forty five minutes.

Then put the pan with the cookie sheet still on top into a 375 degree oven. Cook the rolls for 18 minutes. If they’re not brown enough for you then take the cookie sheet off the top and cook for a few more minutes. I didn’t have to do this though. Mine turned out wonderfully without the extra minutes.

Cool them on a rack in the pan for five minutes. Then take the buns out of the pan. Flip them over and let them finish cooling.

The pan makes ten buns. To prepare them you cut each bun down the middle without cutting through to the bottom. Then cut down the indented lines to separate the ten buns.

And here’s one of the buns in action:

We used them for hot dogs and ham sandwiches. I did have a problem with the bun being a little too big when I ate my hot dog. This wasn’t a problem for Mr. Diva and it wasn’t a problem for either of us with the ham sandwiches. I think that keeping an eye on the rising dough next time will help keep the buns a more manageable size.

Cornbread happened.  It turned out great.  Here’s what I did . . .

Cornbread

1 cup cornmeal
1 – 1/4 cup flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs – lightly beaten
1 cup milk
1/4 cup melted butter or oil

Follow the instructions that came with your bread machine in terms of which ingredients to put in the machine first. Then select the cake setting with a light crust.

We sliced the cornbread and froze what we didn’t eat.  When we want a slice we just pop it in the toaster.  It thaws and heats the cornbread all at once.

Rosemary Bread

2/3 C. Milk
2 Eggs
3 C. Bread Flour
2 – 1/2 Tablespoon Sugar
1 – 1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 – 1/2 Tablespoon Butter or Olive Oil
1 teaspoon Chopped, Fresh Rosemary
1/2 teaspoon Dried Thyme
1/2 teaspoon Dried Cilantro
2 teaspoons Yeast

In a large measuring cup or bowl mix the milk and the egg. Put in the dried spices to rehydrate them. Then follow the instructions that came with your bread machine in terms of which ingredients to put in the machine first.

This bread is heavenly toasted and topped with cream cheese!

Orange Bread

1 – 3/8 C. Milk
1 Egg
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 teaspoon orange zest
1 – 1/2 teaspoons Salt
3 Tablespoons Sugar
4 – 1/4 C. Bread Flour
2 teaspoons Yeast

Follow the instructions that came with your bread machine in terms of which ingredients to put in the machine first.