Basic Bread Machine Bread

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There is something special about homemade bread. My mom was the first of us to get a bread machine and I thought she was crazy. Bread from the store was super cheap, what in the world would we make bread for? Oh how my mindset has changed dramatically since then! I’ve made so many different types of homemade bread and each of them is unique and wonderful in it’s own way. I couldn’t tell you the last time that we actually bought bread from the store. I jumped on the homemade bread train when I finally found the best basic bread machine bread recipe. 

Different Recipes

There are so many recipes out there for bread machine bread. The one thing that I have found is that you need to find the right recipe for your machine. My mom has a recipe that she loves but I didn’t like it in my bread machine. My sister also jumped on the bread train later and found that she didn’t like either of our recipes in her machine. It might take some trial and error for you to find the recipe for your machine. 

That’s honestly one of the reasons that I’m sharing this recipe. If it helps one person grow to love their machine and dive into the homemade bread world then it is worth it. Some of them come with books but for those of us that buy secondhand the book might not be included. It’s not always easy to figure out how to use the machine or what the correct recipe is. The other option that you have is to search for the instructions for your bread machine. A lot of times you’ll be able to find some helpful hints or the machine guidelines online. 

Bread Settings

For this recipe the setting that I use on my machine is Basic(Lg. Medium). It’s a medium size loaf and it’s cooked to a medium perfection. The other thing that you can try with your recipes is to switch up the settings that you are using. I’ve also used this with the Basic(Large, Dark)setting. This cooks it a little more and makes it more crispy. It’s not my favorite but in certain applications I do like it. For normal day to day bread the most basic loaf is the softest and best tasting. The Basic (Reg) is also good but it makes a smaller, more dense, loaf if I use this recipe.

You will most likely need to play with the settings to find what you like. This was a trial and error process for me. Unfortunately, unless you have the exact same machine as me I won’t be able to tell you which setting you should be on. As you can see, the variance in the machines is something that you will need to learn and work through.

Ingredients for Basic Bread Machine Bread

• 1 ½ cups water
• 2 tsp salt
• 3 ½ cups flour
• 2 Tbsp oil
• 2 tsp bread machine yeast

Directions

• Add the ingredients to your bread machine pan in the order that they are listed. 
• Before adding the yeast make a small cup in the flour with your finger. 
• Then put the yeast into this little cup. It’s hard to describe but shown below with the yeast in the small divot that I made. 
• Choose the setting that you need for your machine and get it started.
• Let it cook!

Cook Time

Our bread machine takes about 3 hours for this basic loaf. It makes our house smell delicious so I don’t mind that it cooks so long. The larger loaves will take almost four hours to cook. I typically like to start the bread on my lunch break so that it has all afternoon to cook. This is about perfect because it’s cooled for dinner. However, if you want it hot out of the machine just make sure you know how much time it takes. This is another thing that will definitely vary by the machine that you have. The more expensive ones seem to move through the process more quickly.

Removing the Bread

Once your bread is done you can take it out of the machine. The pan that is in the machine should come out of it with a small handle located on the top. Pull this directly out of your machine. It will be hot so make sure that you use some pot holders!

Flip the bread out of the pan and onto the counter to cool. I typically flip it out onto a pan or a cutting board. If you leave it in the machine it may start to get some moisture on it. A little bit of moisture isn’t a bad thing but it will make your bread mushy if you leave it too long. 

Bread Paddle

There is generally a small paddle in your pan as well. Mine bakes right into the bread and needs to be pulled out. Once the bread is cooled I can generally pull it right out of there. This does vary by the machine though. My mom has never had an issue with her machine having this little paddle stuck. Her machine is also a little more expensive which could cause the difference too. It’s not a big deal, just make sure you don’t try to cut through your bread with the paddle in it. 

In Summary: Basic Bread Machine Bread

After having a baby I really leaned into my bread machine era. I love making bread from scratch, like this soft sandwich loaf but a baby can really throw off a bread schedule. It’s been so nice to be able to still make our own bread during this postpartum time of needing nourishment.

I hope this basic bread machine recipe works with your machine! If not, how did you find the one that worked for you? Are there any other favorite recipes that you have for your bread machine? Leave them in the comments and we will make sure we give them a try!

Basic Bread Machine Bread

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 3 hours hrs

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Ingredients

  

• 1.5 cup Water
• 2 tsp Salt
• 3.5 cup Flour
• 2 tbsp oil
• 2 tsp bread machine yeast

Instructions

 

• Add ingredients to the bread machine in the order they are listed above.
• Before adding the yeast make a small divot in your flour. Pour the yeast into this small divot.
• Choose the basic setting on your bread machine and get it started.
• When it is done cooking remove it from the machine.