Nobody's Mad

We make bread with a bread machine, and if I am careful, the bread turns out velvety and delicious.  Because it tastes so much better than “shop” bread, we eat it nearly exclusively.  Bread is chemistry, if not alchemy: I think it’s important to measure the ingredients exactly, especially the yeast; and to use bread flour, not the all-purpose kind.  (The label on the bag of flour should at the very least mention bread.)  Getting the water-temperature right is a tricky issue that I assume you have mastered.

Your bread machine will dictate the order and method, but here are the ingredients for our brown bread.

Makes a 1.5 pound loaf.

• 1 cup + 3 T. water (80 degrees f.)
• 2 T.  oil
• 3 T. molasses
• 1 1/2 t. salt
• 2 T. dry milk powder (skim is OK)
• 2 cups white bread flour
• 1 1/4 cups whole-wheat bread flour
• 1 1/2 t. active dry yeast*

*We use the granulated kind that comes in a jar.  I prefer a brand that at least mentions bread machines on the label.