When your breadmaker is over it.
This is my wonderful breadmaker. It is evidently tired of me, so it threw itself off the counter and onto the floor this morning. The lid is broken and there's no saving it. What's a girl to do when she has a nicely kneaded lump of dough and a breadmaker that is no longer willing to function? Well, you just move it over to a bowl and let it rise for a couple of hours. Then you knead it a bit more and put it in your loaf pan. Let it rise for another hour, and pop it in the oven!
My darling Hubby bought me this breadmaker about 15 years ago, and I really love(d) it. You can see the writing on the side, which is the recipe I use most often, with ingredients for both a small and large loaf. I was putting dishes in the dishwasher, while my breadmaker was on the counter top, kneading away. Suddenly, I heard a loud crash and Binx went running. (He had previously been sitting on the floor near my feet, "washing").
I looked over in horror as I saw my darling breadmaker, upside down, on the floor. The force of the fall had pulled the cord out of the wall, and the impact shattered the plastic that holds the lid on. I did get lucky enough, that the dough ball didn't hit the floor. It was still stuck inside the baking chamber and the mixing paddle was keeping it in the bottom of the chamber (which was sitting upside down on the floor).
The kneading of dough in this machine has always been a bit violent, causing the machine to thump on the counter, but I've never seen it "walking" across the counter top. Today, it did, and marched itself right off the counter!
I guess I'll be making my bread the old fashioned way for the immediate future. I do have to say, that I prefer the pretty loaves you get from the oven, over the somewhat tubular loaves that come from the breadmaker, but I will miss the convenience of not having to knead the dough by hand.
The loaf I make is delicious and makes a lovely sandwich loaf, so I'll share the recipe with you below. Give it a try and let me know how you like it. For those of you who still OWN functioning bread makers - I'll include the instructions for using your machine as well!
For a small loaf (1 lb loaf):
2/3 c. warm water
1/4 c. milk
2 1/2 c. bread flour
1 tbsp and 2 tsp sugar
1 package dry yeast
1 1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp butter (cut into small pieces)
Mix the flour, sugar, salt and yeast together in a bowl. Add the milk, water and butter, mixing until a dough is formed. Knead for 5ish minutes or until a smooth elastic ball of dough is formed. Place in an oiled bowl, roll the dough ball around inside the bowl, so that it is coated lightly in oil, and cover with a towel. Let rise for approximately 2 hours in a warm place. (I put it in the oven - with the light on but no heat).
Dump out of the bowl when doubled in size, and punch down. Knead a little and form into a loaf. Oil a bread pan, and place dough in the bread pan. Cover and let rise for an additional hour. Remove cover and place in a pre-heated, 350 degree oven. After 30 minutes, check the loaf for doneness by tapping on the top of the loaf. If it sounds hollow, remove from oven and turn out onto a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely. If it is not done, cook in additional 5 minute increments until done, then cool, as instructed above. Brush with melted butter if desired.
If you are fortunate enough to have a bread maker - using ingredients listed above - first add the water and milk to your break maker. Add salt, then flour. Sprinkle sugar over top of the flour. Make a shallow well in the middle of the flour and add your yeast. Cut the butter into 4 equal parts and place in the four corners of your pan. Place in breadmaker and set to "white" loaf with a medium crust. Once the machine finishes, turn out onto a cooling rack.
To keep your loaf from collapsing as you cut it, allow it to cool completely before cutting. Enjoy!
Let me know if you try this recipe out!
Best wishes!
