Reviving your bread maker

Everyone has one, and its sitting in your basement, neglected and shrouded in guilt for being just another unused appliance. Go get it! If you don't own one, ask your neighbour for their unused machine. I've acquired all three of my bread makers this way.

Bread makers really as easy and fast as grabbing a loaf at the grocery store, and far more delicious, cheaper and free of preservatives or mystery ingredients. Lack of time is not an excuse to avoid your bread maker since once you are familiar with a recipe, it takes under 4 minutes to toss in all the ingredients and press start. I've been using my bread machine for 3 years and the novelty of even plain bread hot out of the machine has never worn off! And there are endless possibilities of things to make with your bread machine. Stay posted for blogs on Montreal-style bagels, pizza dough, sourdough soon.

Today I switched it up from my usual multi-grain loaf and tried a lemony-molasses loaf. I also added raisins and pecans.

This loaf was not overwhelmed by any particular flavour but was perfect for a slightly sweet breakfast toast. Mr. 3-Yr-Old chose concord grape jam as his topping.

The recipe came from the book The Complete Guide to Bread Machine Baking:

3/4 cup mild
1 egg
2 Tbsp water (I replaced one of these with fresh lemon juice)
2 Tbsp margarine or butter
2 Tbsp molasses
3 Cups bread flour
1 Tsp finely shredded lemon peel
3/4 Tsp salt
1 1/4 Tsp bread machine yeast

1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)
1/4 cup raisins (optional)
* If you do add nuts or fruit, make sure you wait until part way through the mixing cycle. My machine beeps about 40min after I start. This ensures that the nuts and fruit don't get too mangled and stay as visible pieces.

That's it for now folks! Bread makers rule.

A.