Bread Machine

[JohnyMac]

Well MrsMac gave me a bread machine for my soon to come B-Day.

I did all of the research and it seems that the Hamilton Beach 29882 machine received the best reviews and it was only $63-.

With that all stated I have never made machine bread and there seems to be a lot of do's & don'ts in the directions so rather than shell out extra dollars for stuff I do not need I thought I would get some advise from UP's forum members.

My questions are:

1) Do you really only have to use "bread flour"? I have made bread your half a decade using normal every day flour. My
    grandmother used the flour she had on hand and so have I with no problems.
2) It is HIGHLY recommended to use "bread machine yeast." Why wouldn't regular yeast you buy in the store work?
3) If you have a bread machine, please share with me/the forum your favorite recipe and why.

Thanks 

[brat]

Jmac-o-kenobi............ The answers you seek are to be found here, from your favorite King Arthur.

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/tips/bread-machine-ingredients.html

Be sure to use a flour made from hard wheat, which means it’s high in protein, and therefore high in gluten. The gluten combines with water to form the elastic strands that trap carbon dioxide given off by yeast, allowing bread to rise. A flour high in gluten will produce a nicely risen loaf, while a low-gluten flour (such as pastry flour, cake flour or self-rising flour) will not. Most bread machine manuals and cookbooks call for bread flour rather than all-purpose flour.

 

[JohnyMac]

  Perfect! Thx brat!