Arguably the most wonderful scent in the world!

Nothing can quite compete with the basic gut reaction to the scent of freshly-baked bread! Even the yeasty perfume of dough as it rises can trigger physiological reactions that cannot be denied.  That same fragrance can bring back memories of childhood, of gatherings with friends, of long-ago places visited. There are vast numbers of types of bread.  Every people the world round have some version of bread in their diets.  Bread can be so basic that it doesn't even contain a leavening agent of any sort to make it raise up, or the texture of the bread can be so full of bubbles that melting butter has an infinite number of places to nestle.

I did grow up with homemade bread baking at least once a week.  My mom had working farmers to feed and nothing quite "fills the gap" like a slice of fresh bread with butter and, probably, jam, jelly or peanut butter.  I still recall carrying a lunch bucket to my dad, knowing that it held sandwiches of brown bread, butter and jelly...never peanut butter on Dad's sandwiches.  It also may have held cookies, but often there were also caramel rolls, as well.

Everyone who takes on the task/challenge of baking homemade bread has a vision of what he or she wants his final product to be.  The flavors may vary to complement the main dish of a meal or to simply be the basic material for toast and jelly in the morning.  I usually make a whole wheat/flax bread for our daily use, but I have also made a sturdy, moist potato bread that is almost a meal in itself.  I have an old friend whose hobby is actually making artisanal  breads and who also hopes to build his own brick oven to further the authenticity of his breads.  More power to him!  I suspect he has made his family members and many others very happy with his efforts.

One of the steps of bread making that immediately comes to mind for most is that of kneading the bread dough before it is allowed to rise.  There are all sorts of suggestions, admonitions and old-wives'-tales regarding kneading bread, but it usually can come down to a bit of work if one is planning on stocking up on bread at all.

  Hallelujah!  The advent of the bread making machine is relatively recent when compared to the history of bread, of course, but they have been around for about two decades now and are dearly beloved by many, even if most of those users don't feel overly proud of admitting to their use of them.  I, however, am here to stand before you with no apologies (well, hardly any) and testify to owning and using not just one bread machine, but usually three of them at once.  My mom gave me one for Christmas one year and I really felt like Super Woman when I was sending my hubby to work with sandwiches made of fresh homemade bread.  How thrilling to actually be able to load and time that device so that the bread was ready to serve when we awoke in the morning!  Other machines have joined or rejoined my kitchen equipment as time has passed. One had even been a gift to my son...from ME!

 I had somewhat given up using my first bread machine as the bread wasn't baking well and, after about three hours, that thing was presenting me with a nasty glutenous glob, fit only to harden for use as a doorstop.  I had never really been a fan of that odd square-shaped loaf, anyway.  Then, it hit me!  Why not simply use that machine on the 'Dough' setting, knead it down slightly, and let it raise again in a normal loaf pan! Lovely! Except for the fact that one only gets a single loaf at a time, it is very nice to be able to control how long the loaf raises and exactly when it should proceed to the oven.  It actually takes a similar amount of time whichever route one chooses to go...about three hours.  One other plus with using the 'dough' setting is that another loaf can be started as soon as the dough of the first is removed.  When I found opportunities for increasing my herd of machines, I immediately and happily took advantage of them.  Using those machines means that not only am I putting bread away in the freezer all day, but I can go on with other projects, as well.

The bread recipe that has become our staple includes whole wheat flour because we like the heartiness of it, but, since whole wheat flour can be heavy enough to keep the dough from rising nicely, I also use some all-purpose white flour.  When we found that friends of my mother raise and sell golden flax and then read the information explaining the benefits of having flax in one's diet, we added that to the mix, as well.  One can exchange one-half cup of flax for flour in any recipe and we have also used it in breakfast muffins. I have also developed a means of making the measuring as easy as possible, too, and set  up a sort of assembly line, measuring the ingredients into containers which can then be emptied into the tubs of the bread machines as the first loaves are finished.  I also have a set of measuring spoons that includes 1 1/2 teaspoons (aka 1/2 Tablespoon).  You are probably aware that a typical coffee measure is equal to 2 tablespoons. I use these regularly to speed up the measuring process even more.

Here is the recipe I use:
1 1/2 cups white all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup ground golden flax
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2tsp. yeast
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. powdered milk
I measure all these things into a container in no particular order, since they won't be sitting all night before the process begins.
Into the tub of the bread machine, I measure 1 cup of lukewarm water (85-90F.) and 2 Tbsp. cooking oil, olive oil or butter.
Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, place the tub into the machine, set the machine to 'dough', and push the button!
When the dough is ready, remove it from the tub and knead it slightly on a floured surface to get out air bubbles, shape the loaf by 'tucking' the edges of the dough underneath the loaf.  Place the loaf in a greased pan and set it in a warm place to rise.  This rise will probably take about an hour.
Place the loaf in a preheated 375F oven and bake 35 minutes.  Remove from pan and allow to cool on a cooling rack to avoid sogginess.  If you plan to freeze any of the loaves, you will want to completely cool them before you place them in plastic bags for the freezer.

There are a number of bread machine cookbooks available and many recipes are also available online.  We have also tried rye bread, egg bread, and pumpernickel.  I have also tried using liquid milk rather than powdered and found no real advantage in doing that. You could also let your loaf raise in a round shape on a greased cookie sheet and sprinkle it with sesame seeds if you wanted to have a rustic appearance.  I even made a long loaf and clipped it on the sides to form a stalk of wheat.  It was well received at supper! Spraying water into the oven periodically during baking

will encourage a nice crispy crust.

The variations are limited solely to your tastes and creativity, so go make some memories!