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Brown Rice Bread
(10 Servings)
 
Ingredients

1/3 cup brown rice

2/3 cup water

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup warm water (up to 1/2 cup to make dough, by eye)

3 cups bread flour

2 tablespoons white sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

Directions

In a saucepan bring water to a boil. Add rice and stir. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
 

Place 1/2 cup of cooked rice in a two cup measuring cup.
 

Add oil and enough warm water to equal 1 1/2 cups. Add this mixture to pan of bread machine. Add flour, sugar, salt and yeast. Select cycle; press Start.
 

In my bread machine this takes 2 1/2 hours start to finish.

Ingredients :

3 1/3cupArrowhead Mills Spelt Flour

1pktYeast

2tblVegetable Oil

2tblHoney

1tspSalt

1cupWarm Water

I have not made this recipe using a bread machine, but making it by hand was a cinch and was pretty good. This is a spelt bread recipe and you can find it sold in package form from Arrowhead Mills; e.g. SPELT FLOUR. I am submitting both the bread machine and manual method.

Place in bread machine according to manufacturer's instructions. Bake on shortest cycle possible (NOT quick bread cycle). If loaf falls and craters during baking cycle, decrease water slightly next time.

FOR BAKING IN THE OVEN Use same ingredients as above. Preheat oven to 350F. Dissolve yeast in water with honey and vegetable oil. Add salt and 1 1/2 cups spelt flour. Beat well for 3 or 4 minutes. Cover with damp cloth and let sit for in warm place for approx. 30 minutes or until doubled in size. Add remaining flour turning onto floured board to knead. Knead until smooth adding (more) flour if necessary. Place in oiled loaf pan, cover with damp cloth and let rise in warm place until doubled in size (approx. 30 minutes). Bake for 30-40 mins. or until golden brown.

Yield: 1 loaf

Note: Fresh Fields also sells spelt flour in bulk form.

Gluten-Free White Bread for Bread Machines
Recipe Yield 1 - 1 1/2 Pound Loaf

INGREDIENTS -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3 eggs

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup honey

1 1/2 cups buttermilk, at room temperature

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon xanthan gum

1/3 cup cornstarch

1/2 cup potato starch

1/2 cup soy flour

2 cups white rice flour

1 tablespoon active dry yeast

     DIRECTIONS--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer.

Select the sweet dough cycle. Five minutes into the cycle, check the consistency of the dough. Add additional rice flour or liquid if necessary.

When bread is finished, let cool for 10 to 15 minutes before removing from pan.


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by Natalie (Gluten Free Mommy)

GLUTEN FREE MILLET OATMEAL BREAD RECIPE by Natalie

1 cup brown rice flour

1/2 cup certified gluten free oat flour (you can pulverize oats in a food processor to make oat flour) *If you are sensitive to oat flour, try quinoa flour

3/4 cup millet flour

1/2 cup tapioca flour

1/3 cup arrowroot starch* you can substitute cornstarch if you need to

1/3 cup sweet rice flour

1/4 flax seed meal (you can’t taste it and it adds fiber)

1 Tablespoon xanthan gum

3 eggs

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 packet active dry yeast+ 1 tsp granulated sugar for proofing yeast

1 Tablespoon molasses

3 Tablespoons brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

4 Tablespoons butter or butter substitute, melted

1/4 cup plus 1 cup heated water (I heated my water to 120 degrees to proof the yeast)

DIRECTIONS:

Make sure all your dry ingredients (and eggs!) are at room temperature. Grease the bottom of a 10 inch loaf pan or two 8 inch pans. Heat the oven to 200 degrees and then turn off. In the bowl of your stand mixer (I used my paddle not my dough hook for this recipe), sift together the dry ingredients. In a separate medium bowl, mix eggs, molasses, vinegar, and melted butter together. Heat your water for proofing the yeast. I recommend 120 degrees. In a small prep bowl, stir together your active dry yeast and one teaspoon of sugar. Add 1/4 cup of the heated water to the yeast mixture. Let the yeast sit for 10 minutes. It should be foamy and active! If not, start over with another packet of yeast. Once your yeast is ready, add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients. Then add the yeast mixture. Then slowly add your water (should still be warm) to achieve the right consistency in your batter. Since different brands, flours, measuring techniques act different I do not recommend just blindly dumping in the rest of the water but adding gradually instead. The dough should be like very stiff cake batter. I beat my dough on high for about 15 minutes in my stand mixer. If you accidentally add too much water simply add a little rice flour until you achieve the dough consistency you are after. Put the dough in your prepared pan and place in oven to rise for about 1 - 1 1/2 hours. You can put plastic wrap or a towel over the pan. My house is much too cold right now so I put mine in the oven so that the dough can rise. Once the dough has risen to the top of the pan, bake the bread for 40 minutes at 350 degrees or until internal temperature reaches 190 degrees. As you can tell, I am big on thermometers.

Makes a delicious loaf of bread that is eaten in no time. My bread is always consumed within 2 days so I don’t know how long it lasts. I would not refrigerate this bread ( it might get soggy), but I would slice and freeze it for later use.

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Whole Beer Bread by Natalie (Gluten Free Mommy)

My latest gluten free bread recipe is made with an entire bottle of gluten free beer- Get it? Whole Beer Bread? If you have gluten free beer hanging out at your house make sure to set aside a bottle for this recipe! My husband and I don’t drink beer, so I always have to go to the store to make beer batters and beer bread.

The beer gives the bread an excellent flavor. I made this bread using certified gluten free oat flour and sorghum flour because they are familiar whole grain flours to me. I really like the taste of these flours. I also used molasses and brown sugar because these ingredients complement the beer flavor well and keep the bread moist.

I thought I would share a few baking tips with the recipe:

Gluten Free Bread Baking Tips

Bread can be a little challenging! With a little practice and experimentation, however, you will become a gluten free bread baking expert in no time at all.

1. Use familiar whole grain flours. After you go gluten-free, experiment with whole grain gluten free flours and figure out your top three favorites. Those are the flours you should highlight (or choose from) in your gluten free bread. Remember that you may not like a flour the first time you try it, so try a few recipes before vetoing one. Some of my favorite whole grain gluten free flours are oat flour, millet flour, and sorghum flour. I think whole grain flours turn out a better tasting loaf of bread.

2. Try baking gluten free bread ‘by hand’ first. It is much easier to control the variables in a recipe when you bake the bread by hand. I think bread machines are fantastic for the tried and true recipes, but when I am in experimentation mode, I want to bake bread by hand. Overall, I think I get better results with a KitchenAid mixer and the oven, but maybe that is just me! If you don’t bake a lot and don’t have a lot of counter space to spare, I would opt for this bread machinebecause it is lighter and easier to store. I use my yellow KitchenAid Stand Mixerat least 5 times a week, so I made room on my counter!

3. Preheat your oven. I make sure to turn my oven on at least 15 minutes before I start baking my bread. You want your oven to be nice and hot when the bread starts to bake.

4. Proof your yeast. I prep my yeast in tiny clear prep bowls with a teaspoon of sugar for 10-15 minutes, so that I know for sure that my yeast is doing its job. I invest too much money in gluten free flour to take my chances here!

5. Rise time is just a guideline. Depending on where you live and what season it is your rise time will vary. If your dough has doubled in size, your bread is ready to bake.

6. Make sure dough is “kneaded.” I know most gluten free bread recipes do not call for a long mixing time, but I think that gluten free flours actually absorb some liquid during this additional mix time. I mix the dough to get a better idea of how much liquid I really need. It also heats up the yeast, which is beneficial for rising. I know a lot of great gluten free bakers don’t mix their bread dough this long, so it isn’t necessary for a good loaf. Mixing just helps me get the liquid-dry ingredient ratio just right!

7. Don’t forget the salt. The bread will need the enhanced flavor. Don’t let the salt come in direct contact with the yeast because it will kill the yeast.

8. Use a thermometer before you add the liquids. My mother swears she can just tell the temperature that is right to bake bread. I think I can finally feel it, but I like to rely on a thermometer. Liquids should be warm but not too hot because it will kill the yeast. Try 105 degrees.

9. Use Flax seed meal. Flax seed meal contains omega-3 fatty acids and valuable dietary fiber. It may even fight cancer, so putting it in your sandwich bread may not be a bad idea.

10. Use the flat paddle attachment to your mixer. I know some of you use your KitchenAid dough hook, but I prefer to use the flat paddle attachment for mixing gluten free breads.

11. Different flour brands may require different liquid amounts. Sometimes a different brand of rice flour may require more or less liquid than another (Arrowhead Mills vs. Bob’s Red Mill).

12. Bring all ingredients to room temperature. Don’t let cold eggs kill your yeast. Set your eggs aside when you are mixing the dry ingredients to give them a chance to warm up. If the eggs are still too cold, try holding them (in a measuring cup) over a pan of hot water.

13. Check the Ph of your water or use bottled water. You can call the local water department or be lazy and just use bottled water. Most city water is more alkaline, so you would want to add a little vinegar to the dough.

14. Smooth the top of your bread. Oil a Silicone Spatulaand carefully smooth the top of the dough before putting the loaf in the oven. This will make your loaf more attractive.

15. Use a high-quality pan. Your loaf pan doesn’t have to be expensive, but it should be heavy duty. I use this 5-by-10-Inch Rectangular Nonstick Large Loaf Panor these 4-1/2-by-8-1/2-Inch Loaf Pansfor my gluten free bread recipes.

16. Double-check the ingredient list. I check off the dry ingredients as I go which prevents me from leaving something out. I am a mom and frequently interrupted!

17. Mix the dry ingredients (minus the yeast) for next time. You may have gotten in the habit already of making your own mixes for muffins, etc. When I find a recipe I like, I will measure out the dry ingredients into a ziplock bag for next time while I am making today’s loaf of bread. This makes it much easier the next time around.

18. Add some flavor with your liquid choice. I used gluten free beer in this recipe and it added lots of good flavor to my loaf. You can also try coffee, which complements molasses and brown sugar well too. Don’t feel limited to milk or water. Just keep ph in mind.

19. Learn to eyeball the right dough consistency. Gluten free bread dough will be shiny. It will hold the twirls of the mixer. It will look like stiff cake batter and will not be as thick as cookie dough. You will learn exactly what this looks like. When you get it wrong by a couple tablespoons the bread may fail, but don’t give up- you will get it! I always give liquid measurements in my recipes because I think it helps you learn how much liquid to put in a recipe, but a recipe’s liquid needs (based on humidity, season, flour brands, substitutions made) may vary and it is up to you to recognize what the dough is supposed to look like!

20. Use a Digital Thermometerto check if the bread is done. Tap the bread and see if it sounds hollow. Check the internal temperature of the bread- I like mine to reach about 208 degrees. This may be higher than normal bread, but for some reason gluten free bread has a tendency to have raw spots, so I wait a few more degrees.

21. Add some flavor with an “add-in”. Kate of Gluten Free Gobsmacked has an excellent recipe for sundried tomato bread. The sundried tomatoes add both flavor and extra moistness.

22. Adjust baking time. Don’t assume the recipe is the problem right away. If your bread seems dry or the crust is too hard, cut back on the baking time (again, this is where the thermometer comes in handy). If you are a newbie, I suggest erring on the side of more time in the oven rather than less (totally the opposite from other gluten free baked goods) but dry gluten free bread can be used for breadcrumbs, etc. and underbaked bread is much worse in my opinion. I would go with the thermometer and tap approach if you are unsure!

23. Store your bread carefully. Don’t put homemade gluten free bread in the refrigerator. It will make the texture gummy. I store bread in a ziplock bag that has had the air squished out.

24. Remove your bread from the loaf pan to cool. I leave my bread to cool in the loaf pan for no more than 5 minutes before I invert the loaf onto a rack. The texture of the crust is much better this way.

25. Relax and take your time. Turn on some music and enjoy making gluten free bread. It is just as enjoyable (maybe more so!) than making regular bread; it just takes a little readjustment.

WHOLE BEER GLUTEN FREE BREAD RECIPE

1/2 cup certified gluten free oat flour (substitution: quinoa flour)

1 cup sorghum flour

1 cup tapioca flour

1/2 cup arrowroot (substitution: cornstarch)

1 cup white rice flour (substitution: superfine brown rice flour)

1/4 cup flax seed meal

2 teaspoon unflavored gelatin (optional)

3 teaspoons xanthan gum

3 Tablespoons brown sugar

2 Tablespoons of molasses

1 teaspoon salt

1 whole egg plus 3 egg whites

5 1/2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (cooled slightly)

1 teaspoon vinegar

1 bottle of warm gluten free beer, more or less (I used the entire beer) 12 oz.

2 1/2 teaspoons of active dry yeast

1 teaspoon granulated sugar

1/4 cup of water

DIRECTIONS:

1. Get all your ingredients out of the refrigerator so they can come to room temperature.

2. Separate the eggs in a measuring cup or small bowl so they can warm up.

3. Melt the butter in a small bowl and let it cool down just a little.

4. Pour the beer into a measuring cup (you don’t want the foam on top). Make sure the beer is warm.

5. Sift together all the dry ingredients minus the yeast in your stand mixer.

6. Proof your yeast in a small prep bowl- mix the yeast, one teaspoon of sugar, and 1/4 cup of warm water (105 degrees) for roughly 10-15 minutes.

7. Mix the molasses, vinegar, eggs, and butter together in a med. bowl.

8. Pour this molasses mixture into your dry ingredients. Turn your mixer onto med. speed and mix for a minute or two.

9. Pour the yeast mixture in after it has proofed.

10. Slowly add the warm beer. Let it beat for a few minutes between additions. Let the bread dough beat on high for about 10-13 minutes. This is optional but it helps me get the right amount of liquid in the dough and warms up the yeast.

11. Check the consistency of the dough. It should look like shiny stiff cake batter and hold the twirls of the mixer.

12. Spoon into a greased 10 x 5 pan or 2 8.5 x4.5 pans.

13. Smooth the top of the loaf with a greased scraper/spatula.

14. Cover pan(s) with greased plastic wrap and let rise. It took my loaf about 1 hr. and 15 minutes to rise. The loaf should double in size before baking.

15. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

16. Remove plastic wrap and bake for 50 minutes or until the internal temperature of the bread is approx. 208 degrees. Check the temperature at the 40 minute mark.

17. Allow bread to cool for 5 minutes. Invert onto wire rack to cool.

18. Store in a ziplock bag (unsliced) or slice and freeze.

Makes one large loaf or two medium loaves

Note: It is fine to mix the wet ingredients (minus the beer) in your stand mixer and then add the dry ingredients. It is much easier for me to do it the way the recipe is written since it is the liquid measurement that changes in gluten free bread recipes.

Bread Machine Parts Finder

The World's Largest Inventory Of Used Bread Machine Parts !

Bread Machine Parts Finder locates and sells used bread machine parts. We also sell other hard to find vintage kitchen items and spare parts. We are here to provide those hard to find items. Bread Machine Parts Finder searches for discontinued bread machines weekly.
Let us know what you need. Don't be fooled by blogs which state that pans & paddles are the only bread machine parts available and are priced so high that you should by a new bread machine, because of a low $50 or less price tag. New bread machines just are not built like those older bread machines that were built to last. New bread machines are built to ware-out quickly. I'm sure you know why. Most older bread machines were built to last & are easy to work on. I have hundreds of bread machine parts in my eBay Store & they're all less than $50. We carry all internal & external bread machine parts. We carry lids, lid hinges, control panels, rubber feet, pans, paddles, gaskets, belts, coupler-drives, pc-brains, fuses, inner-pans, heating elements, sensors, electric motors, timing gears, pulleys, screws and more. We also carry bread machine manuals & bread machine recipe guides. Just click on the link below to go to our eBay Store.


http://stores.ebay.com/Bread-Machine-Parts-Finder


We have hundreds of Bread Machine Parts
available now in our eBay Store !

We also have thousands of Bread Machine Parts in stock that are not yet listed to our eBay Inventory !

Just click on the link below !

http://stores.ebay.com/Bread-Machine-Parts-Finder

Bread Machine Parts Finder
Bread Machine Parts Finder locates and sells used bread machine parts. We also sell other hard to find vintage kitchen items and spare parts. We are here to provide those hard to find items. Bread Machine Parts Finder searches for discontinued bread machines weekly.
Let us know what you need. Don't be fooled by blogs which state that pans & paddles are the only parts available and are priced so high that you should by a new machine, because of a low $50 or less price tag. New machines just are not built like those older machines that were built to last. New machines are built to ware-out quickly. I'm sure you know why. Most older machines were built to last & are easy to work on. I have hundreds of bread machine parts in my eBay Store & they're all less than $50. We carry all internal & external parts. We carry lids, lid hinges, control panels, rubber feet, pans, paddles, gaskets, belts, coupler-drives, pc-brains, inner-pans, heating elements, sensors, electric motors, timing gears, pulleys, screws and more. Just click on the link below to go to our eBay Store.

http://stores.ebay.com/Bread-Machine-Parts-Finder


We have hundreds of Bread Machine Parts
available now in our eBay Store !

Just click on the link below !

http://stores.ebay.com/Bread-Machine-Parts-Finder

3 Variations of a Gluten Free
Bread Recipe - Bread Machine
****1.5 lb to 2 lb Bread Machine Pans

I have tried lots of variations of Gluten free bread but I wanted a recipe that I didn't have to search high and low for the different flours, this recipe has also cooked the best so far in my bread maker machine. Better yet I could get all the flours in one stop at the organic store. (Tip: Asian Markets have potato starch and tapioca and rice flour too) This recipe is Butter-Basted White Bread; I got this from a book in the library, I cannot remember the title or author. I make this bread for my mother and friend who cannot have gluten in their diet. They rave that this is better than the small store loafs and love that it cuts without crumbling and ideal for sandwiches, toast etc, they both prefer the 1 white/1 brown rice flour mix with linseed and sunflower seeds for taste and texture. The minimum setting I have on my bread machine is 4 hours, the bread cooks fine on this for me. Produces a smaller loaf than wheat bread loafs but still a decent size. by galaxydreaming

4½ hours | 20 min prep

1. Most of the ingredients can be placed straight into the baking pan of the bread maker in the order suggested in your manual. (Some place yeast on bottom, flour mix next, then sugar and liquids; other suggest the reverse order.).
   
   
2. Place 1 & 1/2 tablespoons yeast in bread pan.
   
   
3. Add all the flours, xanthan/guar gum, milk powder and salt.
   
   
4. Add the sugar.
   
   
5. Beat the eggs.
   
   
6. Combine all the water, the butter, vinegar, and eggs. (If your bread machine manual recipes call for warm water, use that. If it has a pre-heating cycle, put in at room temperature.).
   
   
7. Use the white bread setting at medium crust (if you have this selection). Alternatively 3-4 hour setting.
   
   
8. NB:.
   
   
9. 1. Be careful reading tablespoon and teaspoon (I have read it wrong on occasion and achieved a 'not so good loaf').
   
   
10. 2. I recommend that you always go back to the ingredient list and check you have included everything (that isn't optional) before cooking.
    
    
11. This bread freezes well, for convenience slice before freezing.
    
    
12. WHITE & BROWN:.
    
    
13. Exchange 1 cup or both cups of white rice flour for brown rice flour. The results are excellent.
    
    
14. TENDER BUTTERMILK BREAD:.
    
    
15. A tasty bread with a distinctive flavor, it seems to stay fresh longer than other breads. Some lactose-intolerant celiacs can use buttermilk, so this may be a boon for them if they are allergic to the soy in some of the baby formulas or the coconut oil in most of nondairy substitutes.
    
    
16. Follow the recipe for White Bread, but substitute 1/2 cup powdered buttermilk for the milk powder and omit the vinegar. Follow bread machine making instructions as per normal.

Bread Machine Basics

What to do when your manual is missing.

The Machine and It's Parts
Bread Machines have three main parts. The machine itself is Part # 1. Set the machine on the kitchen counter and take a look at it. No matter what brand you have you should notice two things right away. There is a hinged lid which can be lifted and shut. There may be a window in it, and probably a small vent too. Next to the lid you should see a control panel with a few buttons and maybe a light or two if you have a fancy version. Don't worry about the control panel and all it's bells and whistles yet. We'll get to it in a little bit.
Right now we are going to concentrate on the lid, and what you find when you lift it. Inside the bread machine there is a bread pan or bucket. This is Part # 2. It will be square-ish or rectangular-ish shaped. There should be a handle on it, which is probably folded down so the lid will close completely. The bread bucket works as both the mixing bowl and the baking pan. In the center of the bread bucket will be a little bread paddle or kneading blade. This is Part #3. It is responsible for kneading and mixing the dough. When the dough bakes, it bakes around the kneading blade. You must remove the blade from the bottom of the loaf after the bread is baked. I'll explain that in a little while.
You must have all three parts in order to make bread. The machine itself, the bread bucket, and the kneading blade. If any one of these parts is missing you must replace it. The kneading blade is the smallest part and the one most likely to be missing. It is also the least expensive to replace. If you need replacement parts then do an Internet search to find the manufacturer of your machine. Go to their website and email them about what you need. They will be happy to help you. When you have all of the parts you can go to the next step.
The bread bucket and kneading blade are removable. To take the bread bucket out of my machine I lift up the handle and give it a good, hard yank. Your machine may require you to pull harder or softer, depending on how it snaps in. Look it over, grab the handle, and pull. Don't worry. You aren't breaking it. After you get the bread pan out, examine it. If you turn it upside down the kneading blade will fall out. There will be a little spinning gear underneath the bread bucket. This is what turns the kneading blade. Don't worry about it much.
There will be a peg inside the bread pan that the kneading blade fits over. Place the kneading blade on it's little peg and then take it off again to familiarize yourself with it. It should go on and off with little trouble. Set the kneading paddle aside in a safe place so it won't get lost while you do the next part.
Now practice putting the bread bucket into the machine and snapping it into place. For my machine I have to shove down really hard. Don't worry, you aren't breaking it. Take the bread pan out and put it back in several times until you feel pretty secure about the process. Yours may go in very easily or you may have to turn the gear under the bread bucket just slightly to get it to fit into the machine the right way. Keep trying until you are satisfied with your skills in this regard.

What is Your Bread Bucket Capacity?
Next take the bread bucket out set it next to the sink. Get a measuring cup and fill it with water. Pour the water into the bread bucket. Do it again and again and again, until the bucket is full. Count how many cups of water you are adding to the bucket, until you get a total. This part is important, so measure carefully. If your bread bucket holds 10 cups of water then you can make 1-1/2 pound loaves of bread. If your bread bucket holds 12 cups or more then you can make 2 pound loaves of bread. If your bucket holds less than 10 cups then you can make 1 pound loaves of bread. I have heard tell of larger buckets that hold 2-1/2 pounds of bread, but I have never actually seen one myself. I suspect they would hold 14 cups or more. When you choose a recipe it is important that you match it up to the size of the bread bucket you have. You would not want to make a 2 lb recipe in a 1 lb machine. It would result in a big mess. Here is a chart for handy reference.



..















..

Bread Bucket Capacity	Size of loaves you can make
Less than 10 cups	1 pound
10 cups	1 & 1-1/2 pounds
12 cups	1, 1-1/2, & 2 pounds
14 cups or more	1, 1-1/2, 2 & 2-1/2 pounds

Finally, place the bread bucket into the machine, and place the kneading paddle on it's little peg. Fold the handle down, and close the lid. You are now ready to move to the control panel.

Control Panel & Settings
Have a good look at the buttons and display screen on the control panel. You will probably find a Select button, a Stop/Start button, Crust Color and Timer or Arrow buttons. Don't worry about the crust color or timer yet. The Select button and Stop/Start button are the most important ones.
Unplug your machine. Plug it back in. The machine will be on it's Basic (or default) setting now. Place the bread pan and the kneading blade in position. Close the lid. Press Start. Watch what happens. It should make mechanical sounds and the kneading blade should begin to swish around at a steady pace. It goes slowly at first and then goes faster after about 10 minutes. Watch it as long as you like. There isn't any dough in it yet so you can see everything that the machine is up to. You can lift the lid and watch if you like. Place it back down when you are done. Lifting the lid while the machine is running doesn't hurt it. When you are ready, press the Stop/Start button to stop it. You might need to press it twice. Everything should come to a stop and the machine should reset itself to the Basic setting again.
When you have mastered the Stop/Start button, it is time to look at the Select button. Close to the select button you will see several choices. The most common ones are White or Basic; Whole Wheat; French; Sweet; Rapid, & Dough. To set the machine to a particular cycle you have to keep pressing the Select button until it gets to the cycle you want. Sometimes each cycle is identified by a number. For instance, White or Basic is usually 1. Whole Wheat is 2. French is 3; and so on; you get the idea. Each cycle takes a different amount of time to mix and cook the bread. On my machine the White Bread or Basic Cycle takes 3 hours. Whole Wheat bread takes 3 hours and 40 minutes. French bread takes 3 hours and 50 minutes. Sweet bread takes 2 hours and 50 minutes. Rapid Mix takes 1 hour and 20 minutes. Not all machines take the same amount of time for each setting. My dad's machine takes 3 hours and 40 minutes for it's Basic Cycle. It's Rapid Cycle is 3 hours. This is because each machine has it's own way of doing things, the same way that each cook has her own way of doing things.
Practice pushing the Select button and then pushing Start and then Stop until you are confident in your ability to select a specific setting. Remember, you cannot break the machine by pressing the buttons. If you are worried you have broken it then unplug it and plug it back in. It will automatically reset itself to the Basic setting. When you have mastered cycle selection you can go on to the next step.

Crust Settings
The crust setting is not available on all machines. If your machine doesn't have one then don't worry about it. I almost never use my crust setting. I don't find that it makes that much difference in the finished loaf of bread. If you do see a button labeled Crust then it will have 3 settings available: Light, Medium & Dark. The default setting is medium. When you unplug the machine and then plug it back in, it will automatically set itself to the medium setting. If you prefer a light or dark crust instead then you press the Crust button to change the setting. Usually the Crust button will not work until after you select the dough cycle and before you press Start. The order works like this.

1. Select your bread cycle (Basic, or Whole Wheat, or whatever)
2. Select your Crust Setting. You may have to press it several times, to get the setting you prefer.
3. Press the Stop/Start button.

Follow this order with your empty bread machine using different cycles and different crust settings until you feel confident about the process. The crust button probably won't work with the Dough Cycle. This is because the Dough Cycle doesn't actually bake any bread, so the color of the crust doesn't come into play. Usually the Rapid Cycle doesn't allow you to choose a crust color either, but this may not be true of all machines.

Using the Timer or Delay Cycle
This part is challenging at first, but it has great benefits, so I urge you to learn how to use it. Start with an empty bread machine. Use the Select button to choose a setting like Basic or Whole Wheat. If you look at the control panel it will have the number of hours and minutes until the bread will be done. For this example I am going to use the Basic Cycle on my machine, which takes 3 hours; yours may take more time. The control panel will look similar to this: [ 3:00 ]. The bread will take 3 hours to mix, rise and bake. If you start the machine at noon, then the loaf will be done at 3 p.m., 3 hours later.
There should be 2 buttons on your machine with arrows on them. One arrow will point up, to increase the time on the display screen. One arrow will point down to decrease the time on the display screen. These are the buttons you will use to adjust the time on the delay cycle. You can press them right now if you like, to see what they do. When you are done pressing them unplug the machine and plug it back in to reset everything to it's default mode.
Example #1: Let's say it's 6 a.m. on Saturday morning, and you have a bunch of yard-sailing to do today. The crock pot is cooking a nice roast with some carrots and potatoes or some yummy lentil chili. Wouldn't a fresh loaf of hot bread be just the right thing to serve alongside your meal? How can you get the bread machine to delay it's cooking action so that the bread will be fresh cooked at 2 p.m. when you plan to eat dinner?
First, choose your bread cycle. We are using a 3 hour Basic Cycle for our example. Yours may be different, that is all right. The display screen will look similar to this: [ 3:00 ]. In 3 hours it will be 9 o'clock. You don't want to eat your bread at 9 a.m. though, you want to eat it several hours later at 2 p.m. You need to increase the time on the display screen so that the machine will finish baking the bread at 2 p.m., not 9 a.m.
To do this you will need to do a little math. How many hours are between the time you are starting (6 a.m.) and the time you want the bread to be finished baking (2 p.m.)? In this example, there are 8 hours difference. The display area looks like this [ 3:00 ], you want it to look like this [ 8:00 ]. You want the bread to be finished baking, hot and ready to eat in 8 hours, or at 2 o'clock.
Next, use the arrow buttons to increase the 3 on your display screen to an 8. Each time you press the Up-Arrow button, it will increase the time by 10 minutes. Pressing the Down-Arrow button will decrease the time by 10 minutes. Give it a try. Press the Up-Arrow once. The display screen will look like this [ 3:10 ]. The bread cycle is now delayed by 10 minutes. After a ten minute delay, the machine will start it's regular business of kneading, rising and baking. Press the down-arrow button next. The screen will change and go back to this [ 3:00 ]. Pretty easy huh? The Up-Arrow increases the time, the Down-Arrow decreases the time. Press the Up-Arrow now, and hold it. The time should increase really fast. Keep holding it down until the display screen says [ 8:00 ]. If you go over, then use the Down-Arrow to adjust it.
Lastly, make sure your bread pan and ingredients are in the machine, close the lid and press Start. In 8 hours you will have a perfect loaf. This may seem complicated, so let's walk through another example using a few basic steps, for easy reference.

1. Put your ingredients in the bread pan and snap the bread pan into place.
2. Select the cycle you prefer (Basic or Whole Wheat or French or whatever).
3. Using math, figure out how much time before you want the loaf to be finished baking (8 hours in the above example, 4-1/2 hours in the example below).
4. Use the arrow buttons to adjust the time on the display screen to match the number of hours your figured out above.
5. Close everything up and press Start. Walk away now, and let it do it's magic.

Example #2: It's 1 o'clock in the afternoon, and you want a nice loaf of whole wheat bread for supper at 5:30. Your whole wheat cycle lasts 3 hours and 40 minutes. Put the ingredients into the bread bucket and snap the bucket into the machine. Select the Whole Wheat Cycle. The display screen will look similar to this [ 3:40 ]. Yours may be longer or shorter, depending on how long your Whole Wheat Cycle lasts.

If it's noon now, then the bread will be done at about a quarter to 5. (1 p.m. plus 3 hours and 40 minutes is 4:40, or about a quarter to 5). You want it to be fresh, hot, and finished cooking at 5:30, which is 4-1/2 hours away. Use the arrow buttons to increase the time from [ 3:40 ] to 4 hours and 30 minutes. The display screen will look like this [ 4:30 ]. Now press the Start/Stop button, and let the machine do it's job. In 4 hours and 30 minutes, it will be 5:30, and the bread will be finished baking.

A quick note about using the Timer or Delay Cycle, make sure you use a recipe that you have already tested and that you trust. I wouldn't make a recipe for the first time on the Delay Cycle. Also, make sure that you place the ingredients into the bread bucket in the correct order (see below). This means the liquid ingredients first, then the dry ones, and finally the yeast. If the yeast comes in contact with any liquids during the delay cycle, it will over work and you will have a nasty mess to clean out of the machine, trust me on this one.
Using the Delay Cycle isn't difficult. It is a lot simpler than using a pressure cooker. When you get the hang of the Delay Cycle you can pair it with your crock pot and serve up some pretty spectacular homemade dinners that cook while you are away. Even if it seems a little bit intimidating it is still worth trying. One thing you might want to try is to set the Delay Cycle without any ingredients in the pan, and see if it works the way you think it will. Personally I would stop the machine before it got to the bake cycle, because I wouldn't want it to heat up without any dough in it. It would be a good way to try a starter run though, especially if you are afraid of trying it with ingredients the first time.

About The Ingredients
There are a few basic ingredients you need to make bread in a bread machine. They are yeast, flour, salt, sugar, liquids and fats.
Yeast used in a bread machine should always be labeled "Active Dry" on the label. Sometimes you can buy yeast in a jar that says it is specifically for bread machines. If that is the kind that is most available to you, then it is fine to use. Packets of yeast, available in the baking aisle of the grocery store, usually hold 2-1/4 teaspoons of active dry yeast. You may use one packet of yeast to replace 2 teaspoons of yeast in most bread machine recipes. The extra 1/4 teaspoon of yeast won't make that much difference.
The cheapest place I know to buy yeast is at my local Warehouse Store (Sam's). A 2 lb package costs less than $4. This is even cheaper than my local health food store, which charges over $3 a pound. I had been paying over $14 a pound for yeast, when I was buying it in 7 oz jars from the grocery store. I find that when I bake all of our bread myself, I go through about 4 pounds of yeast a year. This savings of $52 more than pays for the Warehouse Store's yearly membership fee. If you bake a lot of bread, you owe it to yourself to find a good source of yeast.
A quick note, I don't use rapid rise yeast. I don't think it's worth the extra cost, and the time savings is negligible once you get the hand of making bread.
Bread Flour makes better bread. I know you don't want to hear that but it is true. Bread flour is made from hard wheat so it has more gluten, or wheat protein, in it than regular all-purpose flour. All-purpose flour is a blend of hard and soft wheat. This makes it serviceable for biscuits, cakes and quick breads, which prefer soft wheat flour; and also serviceable for yeast bread, which prefers hard wheat flour. It is called all-purpose flour because it is designed to be used for all baking purposes.
Bread flour is made for yeast bread. If you don't have bread flour then you may use all purpose flour for most bread recipes. Your results will not be exactly the same as if you had used bread flour, but you will still have good results, and you will still get good bread. Sometimes you will need to add a tiny bit more flour to your dough if you use all-purpose flour. This isn't always true but it is sometimes.
Different brands of bread flour produce different textured breads. I use the cheapest bread flour I can find and have always been very pleased with the results. Bread flour costs a little bit more than all-purpose flour. I consider it worth the extra cost.
Salt is a necessary ingredient in machine made bread. It regulates the rising process so that the bread dough doesn't spill over the bread bucket into the machine. I have read that it takes at least 1/4-teaspoon of salt per pound of bread to regulate it properly. I don't know if this is true or not. If it is though then it means that you can reduce the amount of salt in a 2 lb recipe to a minimum of 1/2-teaspoon. Salt also adds flavor to the bread. Bread made completely without salt doesn't taste as good as bread made with some salt.
Sugar, honey and other sweeteners soften the texture of the dough and the finished loaf. They also contribute to the browning of the bread and the crispness of the crust. The main role they play though is as easy-to-use-food for the yeast. Yeast can use the starch in flour for it's food but it is much happier if it gets an easy to use food like sugar or honey. Most bread machine recipes call for at least a small amount of sugar. A very few may not, like machine made French bread, or occasionally pizza crust. If desired you may add between a teaspoon and a tablespoon of sugar to recipes that don't call for any sweeteners of their own but you don't really have to.
Bread machine breads do best if they don't have too much sugar added to them. When making sweet dough from scratch it isn't unusual to add a full cup of sugar to the dough. When making sweet dough in the machine though it is better to use 1/4 to 1/2-cup of sugar or honey at the very most. This is because the dough rises faster and higher in a bread machine than it does when prepared by hand. Too much sugar is too much food for the yeast and it gets over-excited. This can result in a machine made mess that is unpleasant to clean up.
Liquids used in a bread machine should be room temperature or a little bit warmer. You should never use hot liquids in a bread machine. Liquids that are too hot will kill the yeast. Room temperature liquids make the yeast happy. If you are using tap water then warm tap water is fine. If you are using yogurt or buttermilk you may want to take it out of the fridge to warm up a bit before you use it in the bread machine. This isn't strictly necessary, especially for breads baked on the Basic Cycle or longer. If you are using the Rapid Cycle though it is imperative that the liquids be warm or at least at room temperature.
Milk, buttermilk, and yogurt make the finished loaf of bread softer and give it a finer crumb. With milk or buttermilk, I usually use warm tap water and add powdered milk or dry buttermilk with my dry ingredients. If you have any whey leftover from making cheese it makes a very finely crumbed bread. It tastes really good too, better than you would think. Also runny yogurt that didn't set up quite right is great in breads.

If you are making bread with water and you want to try something fun for a change, add a spoonful of vinegar along with the liquid ingredients. You will not taste the vinegar in the finished bread but the acid in it will keep the bread fresh for a little while longer after it is baked. This is an old-fashioned trick that still works well today.

Fats make the finished loaf richer, softer, and also keep the dough from sticking to the non-stick surface of the bread pan (weird, huh?). Usually between 1 and 4-tablespoons of fat are used in a 2 lb loaf of bread machine dough. You can use most fats interchangeably in a bread machine. Margarine, oil, shortening, lard, chicken fat, bacon grease or butter will all give you pretty much the same results. Some of the fats will add a different flavor, and the texture of the bread will change very slightly, depending on which type of fat you use. The changes however, are minor so you can pretty much use whichever type of fat you prefer. Most often I use margarine or oil.

Solid fats do not have to be melted before adding them to the bread machine. It helps if they are at room temperature, but this isn't always practical. I have added a couple of tablespoons of cold margarine to warm tap water before, and the bread has turned out fine. If you are using the Rapid Cycle the temperature of the fat becomes more important than for the Basic Cycle or longer cycles.

The Order In Which Ingredients Should Be Added to the Bread Machine
There is a big mystique about the order in which ingredients should be added to a bread machine. The truth is, if you are going to mix and bake the dough right away then it really doesn't matter which order you add the ingredients. The machine will mix them all up regardless of the order they were added to the bread bucket. If you want to program the machine with the Delay Cycle to start while you are away, then the order becomes very important. The ingredients must be added in a way that will keep them inert until the machine begins it's mixing. Therefore it is a good idea to get in the habit of adding the ingredients in this way from the beginning.

Most machines like it best if you put the liquid ingredients in first. This would include water, eggs, milk, honey, buttermilk, fats and extracts. Put the liquids into the machine first. Next add the flour. As you are adding the flour, urge it out overtop of the water so that that it sort of seals the water in. Then you can add the other dry ingredients like salt, sugar, dry milk powder and seasonings. The last thing you should add is the yeast. Most recipes suggest that you make a shallow indentation or well in the center of the flour and sprinkle the yeast into it. This is important because it prevents the yeast from coming into contact with the liquid until the machine begins mixing. If the yeast and liquid get together before the machine is scheduled to begin, then the yeast will become active and likely make a big mess out of the machine. I have never seen this happen, but my imagination is pretty vivid, and I try to avoid it. For quick reference, here is the order in which the ingredients should be added:

1. Liquid ingredients (water, eggs, milk, fat, honey)
2. Flour, to "seal" in the liquid
3. Other dry ingredients (dry milk, salt, sugar, seasonings)
4. Add the yeast last.

To sum it up, if you are going to mix and bake your bread right away, then add the ingredients in any order you please. If you are going to use the delay cycle to program the bread machine to work while you are away, then add them in the order given above.

© Hillbilly Housewife 2003-2008

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