I love my bread machine

With the popularity of the no-knead bread, my bread machine has languished for almost a year, only coming out of the pantry (the garage) for special appearances when I need dough for pizza, focaccia or rolls. Lately I have gotten tried of the the no-knead bread...

But let's back up a minute, I remember 10 or 15 years ago when my wonderful sister-in-law first got her bread machine from Costco. She sang it's praise and when I tasted her homemade bread I was delighted. For Bob's birthday, I bought  him one !!

It's an Oster and I can count on my fingers the number of times I have actually bought sliced bread since this magical machine came into our lives !! Along with the machine my SIL also recommended a fabulous recipe book to go with it.

I am on my second or third copy as it keeps falling apart for all the use it gets. I have tried many of the recipes and they are so tasty and varied, something for everyone. I have bought copies of this book to give to family and friends once they buy a bread machine, it's that good.

Recently I have returned to my dear bread machine, not the original but the same make and model. (For some reason we have found them easy to pick up at yard sales...)
I have discovered a recipe I had not tried before and now it is our favorite bread for toast or snacks with homemade nut butter and jam.

Marilyn's Everyday Health Bread

This recipe is for a 1 1/2 pound loaf which what my machine makes.

Best to add the ingredients in this order:

1 1/4 cup water
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cup bread flour
1/2 cup rolled oats ( I use the multi-grain version from Trader Joe's, do not use instant oatmeal.)

1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons nonfat dry milk powder
2 teaspoons active dry yeast *

Select Light Crust setting and press start.
I do check it after the first 10 minutes or so be sure the dough looks right.

This is perfect dough, if it seems too dry add a teaspoon more water, too wet a tablespoon more flour.
In 3 hours when the cycle is complete remove loaf to a rack and allow to cool for an hour before slicing.

The perfect loaf !! It does really work better if you wait that hour before slicing into it. I know the smell is killing you but be patient !!

* about yeast...even though the Bread Machine Magic books tell you NOT to use instant rise yeast in their recipes, it has worked just fine for me. I used it because it was what I had on hand. I made sure to use a scant 2 teaspoons in this recipe.
Another trick is to buy your yeast at places like Costco or online.They sell it in one pound vacuum sealed blocks. It is much cheaper this way. Once I open it, I pour it into a glass container with a good lid and store it in my fridge. You can share a pound with a friend if you don't go through it very quickly, although my yeast lasts in the fridge for 6 months.