I remember the days of baking bread by hand. All the mess, the time it took and the energy I spent on all that kneading and waiting for the dough to rise. Then I got a bread machine and my bread making experience changed forever.

I love my bread machine, but I know others who despise the machine because no matter what they do, they can not make a decent loaf of bread. My mother is one of these people. I find it humorous that she can not make a loaf of bread that is edible, however she finds it frustrating and has given up making bread in a bread machine.

So I began wondering why one person can make a delicious loaf of bread and someone else can use the same ingredients in the same bread machine and yet come up with a loaf that is inedible. I found that it is all in how you place the ingredients in the machine.

Seriously, the secret is in the ingredients and how you place them in the machine. Sure you could use a box bread mix, but if you want a loaf of bread with no preservatives then you are in luck, because I have come up with a great bread machine recipe, that produces the best tasting, high rising loaf of bread that you have ever tasted!

First clean your bread pan and make sure that the kneading bar is locked in place. place one cup of warm water in the pan. Add one egg, 1/3 cup of sugar and 1/4 cup of Crisco. Next add 3 and 1/2 cups of flour, (some people use bread flour, but I have found that regular flour works great with this recipe). Now this is important, add one teaspoon of salt to one corner of the bread pan, (I usually make a small dent in the flour in one corner of my bread pan and put the salt in it). Now make a small dent in the flour of the middle of the bread machine and add 2 and 3/4 teaspoons of yeast. The reason you do this is because if the salt and yeast combine it will cause the yeast to lose its power and your bread will not rise. Now place the bread pan into the machine and twist to lock in place.

This recipe works great on a bread machine setting for a regular loaf of bread, you can decide if you want light, medium or dark crust. I always use medium and it comes out great. Once the bread machine has started the kneading process, open the cover and look to see how the ingredients are coming together. The ingredients should form into a moist solid ball and if you measured accurately it should be fine, but if you see that it is to moist or to dry then this is the time to add a little more flour or water. by a little, I mean just add a teaspoon at a time till the dough forms into a moist ball that has a slightly stretched film across the bottom of the pan.

Now walk away and don't open the top of the bread machine till it is completely finished. Most bread machines take about 4 or 5 hours to complete a loaf of bread. When your bread machine is finished, take the bread pan out immediately, because if you leave it in to long the condensation as the machine cools off may make your loaf of bread soggy. Turn the pan upside down and shake the loaf out of the pan, then check to make sure that the kneading bar is still locked into the pan. If the kneading bar is missing then it is in the bottom of your loaf of bread. remove it from the loaf of bread so that you don't cut though it or throw it out.

Wait for the loaf of bread to cool a little before you cut it, because if you try to cut it when it is hot, you will have a harder time and the loaf will most likely squish as you cut it. So after it cools a little, cut the bread with either a bread knife or an electric knife, which works great!

Now is the moment of truth, select a slice of bread and taste it. Good luck and I hope that you have a wonderful experience with your bread machine.

Learn more about this author, Mel Horton.
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