Bread Machine Bread

There's nothing fancy about this bread, but it's simple to make and uses simple ingredients.  It's an excellent bread.  After tasting it, I think you'll agree.  Good food is often very simple food.

I planned to bring feel-better chicken soup to a good friend, and a freshly baked loaf of homemade bread seemed like a must.  Soup and good bread just go hand in hand.  Since I had to work, I couldn't make a complicated bread, so I enlisted the help of my bread machine.  Before I started work, I put all of the ingredients into my bread machine.  As I went to work, so did my bread machine.  Around lunch time, the bread finished baking.  I removed the bread from the bread maker, and while the bread cooled, I brushed it with butter to help give the crust more flavor.

This bread has such simple ingredients that are always around, at least in my pantry. :)  You don't need any unusual flours or powdered milk.  Just basic all-purpose flour, yeast, salt, water, sugar, milk, and butter, because butter makes everything better.

My bread machine has a setting to select the crust.  I went for a medium crust, and it produced a smooth golden crust which wasn't too thick.  The bread was soft and fluffy with a tender crumb.  The bread sliced easily.  Spread some good butter on it, sprinkle some salt on top, and enjoy.

This is a great recipe for a simple basic white bread.  It stays moist longer than most bread machine breads, so it won't be dried out by the next day.  It's very versatile, it's a great accompaniment for a Sunday night dinner, and it goes along great with chicken noodle soup.   Use it for sandwiches during the week (especially grilled cheese!).  If you can wait, by Saturday morning, you can use it to make French toast.

Bread Machine Bread
Yields 1 loaf

Ingredients:
For a large loaf (1 1/2 to 2 lbs.):
1 cup lukewarm water
1/3 cup lukewarm milk
3 tbsp. butter, room temperature
15 3/4 oz. all-purpose flour
3 tbsp. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. instant yeast
1 tbsp. butter, melted (to brush over bread after it has baked) (optional)

For a small loaf (1 lb.):
2/3 cup lukewarm water
1/4 cup lukewarm milk
2 tbsp. butter
10 1/2 oz. all-purpose flour
5 tsp. sugar
1 1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. instant yeast
1 tbsp. butter, melted (to brush over bread after it has baked) (optional)

Directions:

Add all of the ingredients into the bread machine in the order listed.  Program the machine for a basic white bread, and press start.  After the loaf is done, remove the pan from the machine.  After about 5 minutes, gently remove the loaf from the pan, and turn it onto a rack to cool.  Brush the melted butter onto the loaf as it cools.  

Source: King Arthur Flour