To better understand the recipe, be sure to visit the photo gallery here, it has step by step photos that will help you see what the bread is supposed to look like at every checkpoint!
Bread machines provide an easy way to make bread at home but often produce bread that is not as good as what you could buy at the store. Some people, frustrated with their machines, place them in closets to never be seen again! I actually did that too. Recently I have been trying to eliminate as many chemical additives and preservatives from my diet as possible. Bread has a lot of extra ingredients that is not normally in bread you would make at home. Bread companies add dough conditioners, high fructose corn syrup, preservatives and even food color! So I figured I could make bread that was edible at least and be better than having the chemical laden bread from the store. Well, I even surprised myself! After numerous trials and errors, I finally got it to work and it looked like bakery bought bread too! Please understand that my recipe is different than normal bread machine recipes. I am not saying that the other ways will not work, but this is what I do and it works great for me. There are some crucial points where you have the possibility for error so read the checkpoints carefully!
Step 1
In a bowl or if you have a large measuring cup, measure out the dry ingredients, blend them together with a whisk.
3 CUPS FLOUR (you can use 100% whole wheat or a variation but be sure you have 3 cups total, I usually use 2 cups whole wheat and 1 cup unbleached non-bromated white flour, you may also want to try other combinations using rye, sprouted flour or spelt)
¾ TEASPOON SALT (Try to use natural sea salt, the red gourmet sea salt works great and it is very fine)
3 TBS VITAL WHEAT GLUTEN (This is very important when you are making whole grain breads, add 1 tablespoon per cup of whole wheat flour or add 3, it doesn’t seem to matter if you use 3 even if you use a cup of white flour, the bread will not rise as well if you do not use this and it may be heavy.)
Step 2
In another small bowl, measure out these liquid ingredients.
1 EGG
¼ CUP HONEY OR AGAVE SYRUP (you can use sugar if you do not have either of these, but even though sugar is a dry ingredient, add it here, you may have to add 1 TB extra of water if you bread turns out to dry but I would not add it until after you place everything in the bread machine and see if it mixes ok)
¼ CUP OIL (you can get creative and try different oils here)
Step 3
Add in 1 CUP HOT WATER to the egg, honey/agave mixture. You could microwave room temperature or tap water for one minute or get the hottest tap water you can. When you mix this with the other ingredients the temperature will go down.
Step 4
If you have a kitchen thermometer you can use it now, the water, egg, honey/agave mix should be at least 80 degrees and not more than 110, around 90-100 is good.
Step 5
Add in 3 TEASPOONS OF DRY YEAST (a packet of yeast is not quite 3 teaspoons but probably would work, so you could use 1 packet, because I make bread often now I bought a jar of yeast since it is more economical)
Step 6
Make sure the yeast is stirred and mixed in, let this bowl sit for 5-10 minutes until the top is frothy, you will see the yeast growing.
Step 7
Add the bowl of dry ingredients to the machine
Step 8
Pour the yeast/liquid mix on top of the flour
Step 9
Set your machine to the DOUGH setting, this will allow it to mix, knead and raise it but NOT bake it. On my machine this takes 1 hour and 30 minutes. Don’t panic if it takes a while to mix. When the machine is done mixing, the dough ball should be smooth, elastic and round.
Step 10
Even after the machine beeps and the dough is done, you could let it rise a little longer if you want to, but when it has doubled it is ready. If making 100% whole wheat bread, you may want to let it rise longer anyway. Take the dough out of the machine and punch it down onto a floured surface. I have had the best success making buns or small loaves with this recipe. You can divide the dough into 12 balls for buns or 6 mini loaves for hoagie rolls and it should turn out very well.
Step 11
Roll and shape your buns and place in a greased pan, such as a lasagna pan. You can cut little slashes into them for decoration if you like.
Step 12
Let the dough raise for an hour or so until doubled again, the time of year and the temperature of your home will affect this. I cover my pan with plastic wrap to help hold in some heat and improve the rising of the bread.
Step 13
Pre heat your oven when the bread has doubled again to 400 degrees; get a large piece of foil handy so you can cover it halfway through baking to prevent the tops from burning.
Step 14
Bake the buns around 12-15 minutes, if you made larger buns or hoagie rolls then it can take 20 minutes. Everyone’s oven is different and it can really vary with baking times. Watch your buns and cover them with foil after the tops start to brown. When you can tap the bun and it sounds hollow inside it should be done. Baking time has been one of the hardest things for me to perfect. I think professional bakers really have the advantage because of their ovens. Home ovens just are not the same.
Step 15
Take you bread out of the oven and cool it on a rack, place in plastic bags after it has cooled so it does not dry out. This bread will only last a few days but that should not be a problem since it tastes so good!
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