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Aaah, bread machines. When I received mine as a gift, at first I took it as an insult: What? You don't think that I can make bread? I've only been baking bread for 20 years! And what about the "therapy" derived from hand-kneading bread? Well, it took about 2 months and I was a total convert to bread machines. Now I make bread frequently, rather than only when I have plenty of time.
The recipes in the numerous bread machine cookbooks do not always work well in your particular bread machine or geographic location. For instance, I have found that in Lyons, Colorado, at 5000 feet, I need to use less flour because the flour is so dry. Therefore, you will need to experiment to get consistently good loaves. Don't throw away your years of hand-breadmaking experience when you get your bread machine! Watch the dough carefully in the first five minutes of the process. If you see a huge mass of unmixed flour, you will not have a good loaf at the end of the process. It should be a nice round lump of dough tumbling freely in the bread machine. It should not be too sticky, or too dry. If it's not right, add a little liquid or a little flour, or re-start the mixing process.
If you are going to use the bread machine to bake the bread rather than just to knead and rise the bread, your best recipes are those which came with the bread machine, the recipes designed for your particular brand. I find the texture better if you just use the bread machine to mix the dough, and then take it out and bake it in the oven. I use this method most often. That way you get a nice variety of loaf shapes. I also swear by gluten flour, available in "health food" stores. In each loaf, replace about 2 T regular flour with about 2 T gluten flour. I always use unbleached flour.
This recipe was originally (15-20 years ago!) found in a Bon Appetite magazine. The first method below is my adaptation as I used it in my pre-bread machine years. I did use my Kitchen Aid mixer -- it could just as easily be done by hand for you real diehards out there.
I must admit that I usually didn't bother using sprouts in this bread. They are often just too much trouble. They also make the bread very moist, almost cereal-like. I'd suggest trying the recipe both ways: with and without the sprouts. Don't leave out the ginger, though - it really adds something to the bread.
Combine the above in large mixing bowl. In the cup in which the honey was measured, proof 2 T yeast in 1/2 C lukewarm water with 1 t ginger for 10 minutes. Add the yeast mixture to the mixing bowl.
Add 1/2 C gluten flour, 1 1/2 C whole wheat flour, 1 1/2 C chopped wheat sprouts (optional; see below), and 1 C unbleached white flour and mix several minutes at medium speed (use dough hooks). Slowly add about 2 1/2 C whole wheat flour and 2 C unbleached white flour and knead (with mixer).
Let rise punch down, then let rise again. Form into two loaves (brush with butter if desired) and let rise again. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes. Remove loaves from pans (brush with melted butter if desired) and let cool on a rack.
Wheat Sprouts:
Wheat sprouts can be made from "wheat berries", available in health food stores, often sold in bulk. Years ago, when making sprouts was the craze, I was able to find wheat berries sold specifically for sprouting. I recently found a sprouting jar in our local health food store. A sprouting jar is essentially a glass jar with a plastic lid with holes in it. If you don't have one of these, use a piece of cheesecloth attached to the jar with a canning ring.
To make sprouts, soak the wheat berries overnight in enough water to cover. Drain and rinse the next day (this is why the sprouting jar makes it easy!) and place the jar out of direct sunlight for the day. Rinse and drain again at the end of the day. Continue this routine for a few days. When the sprouts are growing nicely, place them in the sun for a few hours to "green them up". Then, they are ready - use immediately or store in the refrigerator.
Bread Machine instructions:
Mix and bake according to the bread machine manufacturers' instructions. Note: I'd suggest watching the dough in the breadmaker carefully for the first 5-10 minutes, because the sprouts can cause the dough to be too wet. Add a tablespoon or two more flour if necessary to get the "proper" dough consistency.
I prefer to use the dough cycle, then take the dough out and place it in a standard loaf pan. Let it rise until nearly double, then bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes, as in the standard recipe, above.
Conventional method:
Plus lightly beaten egg and 1/4 C sesame or poppy seed or instant toasted onion for tops of buns.
Combine potato flakes with 1 C boiling water, stir with fork; cool 5 minutes. Soften yeast in 1/4 C warm water for 5 minutes. Add cottage cheese, sugar, oil, salt, 1 egg, and yeast mixture to potato mixture, stir. Add flour and knead until smooth and elastic. Let rise until double, about 1 1/2 hours.
Knead to expel air bubbles, then cut into 12 pieces. Lightly oil hands, then gently pull top surface of each piece under until the top is smooth. Put on lightly oiled baking sheet. Cover, let rise about 30 minutes until puffy.
Beat an egg and brush the tops of the rolls with it and then sprinkle with sesame or poppy seed or onion. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown.
In breadmaker:
Combine potato flakes with the boiling water, stir with fork; cool 5 minutes. Put this mixture, the cottage cheese, the egg, and the oil in the blender and blend until smooth. Put in the breadmaker with the remaining ingredients and process on the dough cycle. As always, watch carefully in the first few minutes, adding tablespoons of flour if too sticky or water if too dry.
When the dough cycle is complete, take the dough out and shape, rise, and bake as directed above, making 9 buns.
I make these a lot! I like them for sandwiches. I think, but I'm not sure, that using malt syrup makes them better; you can find it in a beer brewing supply store. If you can't find it, don't worry about it!
Mix in breadmaker on dough cycle. Or, by hand until you have a stiff dough, then let rise until double and punch down.
Divide into 10 equal pieces. Form into bagels: press each piece into a flat round, poke a hole in the center, then enlarge the hole by placing one hand on the inside and one on the outside and rolling the dough between your hands until you have a big, smooth ring.
(If you don't get the inside hole quite big, when the dough rises and cooks, you won't have a hole in your bagel. That's why I say to put your hand inside the bagel; the hole needs to be that big.)
Let rise 20 minutes. Bring some water to a boil in a saucepan and place a couple tablespoons of malt syrup or sugar in it. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. When the water is really boiling, place the bagels in it a couple at a time and boil 30 seconds on each side. Remove to a rack to drain. Brush the bagels with egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 T water) and sprinkle with poppy or sesame seeds. Bake 18 minutes at 400 degrees.
My favorite bagel cookbook, from which the above recipe was adapted:
I was inspired to make these after a member of a news group I was reading, rec.food.baking, asked for suggestions as to how to get pita bread to bake with even crusts. No one else in the group was posting an answer, so I dug out my old recipe (it's been at least 15 years since I tried these, back when I was baking with more whole grains than I do currently) and gave it a whirl. And yes, I did use a bread machine to do the dough, sorry, but I like the freedom it gives me, plus I'm busier than I used to be. The recipe works just as well if you do the kneading by hand, then let it rise until double, punch down and form the loaves.
I was amazed at how good they came out - nutty and chewy and utterly delightful. I get such a kick out of the way they puff up, but then I'm easily entertained. They make a great pocket for fillings, because they stay together much better than the store-bought cracker-like pitas. Most of these had even crusts top and bottom, though a couple were uneven: I have no explanation as to why, I thought I did them all the same. (Guess they were rebel pitas.)
Mix in bread machine on the dough cycle, monitoring the dough after the first few minutes in the machine, adding a little more flour or water if necessary to keep a nice ball of dough. If you can, leave the dough a little bit wetter than you would for conventional loaves. When the cycle is complete, divide the dough into 10 pieces, knead each piece briefly, then roll each into a 6 inch circle. At this point, you may let them rise until puffy, about 20 minutes.
Put a heavy griddle on the bottom of your oven. If you have a gas oven, this really means on the BOTTOM; in an electric oven, you must use the lowest rack. Heat the oven and the grill to 425 degrees. Place the loaves on the heated grill for 6 minutes. They should puff up magically! If desired, you can then place them under the broiler to brown the tops.