Chocolate Coconut Bread
1 Cup milk
3 Tablespoons water
1 Egg, lightly beaten
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
4 teaspoons butter
3 Tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
4 Cups bread flour
1 ¼ teaspoons yeast
½ Cup chocolate chips
½ Cup toasted coconut (more about this later)

This makes a two pound loaf. Follow the instructions that came with your bread machine in terms of which ingredients to put in the bread machine first.  Make sure you check on the dough 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.  Most of the time though, the above amounts should be just right.

Different people will have different results with this recipe.  It all depends on how hot your bread machine gets.  The chips may just slightly melt, they may entirely melt, or you could get some sort of mixture.  I used mini chocolate chips for maximum melting.  Plus, mini chocolate chips are very cute.    Here’s how my bread turned out.

The bread is chocolate flavored with the occasional chocolate burst caused by an unmelted chip.  The coconut is very subtle.  The next time I make this recipe I’m going to double the coconut.

Toasting Coconut

This was the first time I toasted coconut.  I preheated the oven to 300 degrees and spread the coconut out in a baking dish.

I cooked it for 20 minutes and stirred it every five minutes.  Coconut can burn very quickly, so keep an eye on it.  Here’s how it looked after 20 minutes.

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.

Apricot Bread

1/2 cup water
1/2 cup apricot preserves
1/4 cup butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
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.

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.  Most of the time though, the above amounts should be just right.

As you can see by the below photo the bread came out a little dark.  I used the medium crust setting on this loaf.  Next time I’m going to use the light setting.

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.

Have you ever had homemade raisin bread?  If not, then you haven’t had raisin bread.  The difference between this and store-bought raisin bread is amazing.  But be warned, once you’ve had this there’s no going back.

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.

Raisin Bread

1 – 1/2 C. Water
4 – 1/4 C. Bread Flour
3 Tbsp. Sugar
2 Tbsp. Dry Milk
1 – 1/2 tsp. Salt
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 tsp. Cinnamon
1 cup Raisins
2 tsp Yeast

P.S. – For the Zojirushi Bread Machine, the raisins should be added at the “add” beep.  However I’ve discovered that this results in the raisins being around the periphery of the loaf.  To get the raisins more evenly distributed throughout the loaf I put them in when I’m adding the rest of the ingredients.