Let me convince you why you need a bread machine...

Hello, my name is Jan and I'm a breadaholic, so of course I think everybody should be able to make a perfect loaf of bread with a minimal amount of effort.  My dream job is to work in a bread factory, and no, I'm not kidding, I would work there for free, okay, maybe not for free, but maybe minimum wage with benefits and with access to all the warm bread I want to eat  I would even bring my own butter, just to be in that environment and smell that bubbling, breathing yeast.  I know, I know, it's a dream, but I have many times driven by Lewis Bread Company when they were baking bread in the factory and pulled over just to sit there with my windows rolled down, looking like a complete dork, inhaling that wonderful smell. See what I mean, I really am a breadaholic.

 And while there is nothing better than the smell of homemade bread, there is nothing more time consuming than making a loaf from scratch, and then there is always the possibility that it may not rise.  Been there, done that, so many times.  It's so beyond frustrating when bread doesn't rise or when it overcooks and burns.  I remember back, way, way back, to when hubby and I were first married. I wanted to make homemade bread so badly, I would painstakingly knead that dough for exactly eight minutes, cover it, sit in on the counter and it wouldn't rise.  I would just sit and cry, I really would, which of course did no good, but then I would dry my eyes and try again another day.  These were the days before the Internet, there was nobody to ask questions, but finally I did figure out, somehow, to put the bread in a warm oven and it would help the rise.  But being the ditz that I've always been, more times than I care to remember, I would forget to turn the oven off and then the bread would start cooking and it would be ruined.  Oh, so many disasters, oh the stories I could tell.

And then, finally, finally, I bought a bread machine, specifically the Zojirushi Bread Machine and it was a total game changer, no more ruined bread, it did the work, kneaded the dough,  baked the bread and it never failed, ever. My first Zo made a 2 lb. loaf and now, since it's just me and hubby, I have the mini Zo, which makes a 1 lb. loaf and it's the one we use all the time, it's perfect for two people.

Bread machines fell out of favor a few years ago, so many of us jumped on the low carb bandwagon and we abandoned bread in all forms.  Then came the Pandemic, people were home, they rediscovered the joys of baking bread, and they also rediscovered how difficult it can be to turn out the perfect loaf.  But not with the Zo, it's just the perfect bread machine.  It's not the cheapest, nor the most expensive, but if you are a regular reader of my blogs, you know my motto is pay good money for quality appliances and they will last you for years.  You put in the ingredients and in three hours, forty minutes you have bread.  You can also program it to delay the start so that if you're away from home you can come back to hot bread at your specified time.

Here' the machine we use now to make a 1 lb. loaf and the finished bread 

It's the Mini Zojirushi, sold here on Amazon

If you want a bigger machine, which is what first purchased and still use when family or friends come to dinner, then this is a great option.

It's the Zojirushi Virtuoso Plus, also sold here on Amazon

Here is the slicer I purchased last fall along with the mini Zo for our son's birthday.  The mini is the perfect size for his family of three and this is a great slicer.

It's made of bamboo, comes with a knife and folds to store.

I also purchased it on Amazon.

I have a lot of bread recipes for healthy options, whole wheat, grains, Artisan breads, even some copycat recipes from Great Harvest Bread Company which I will be happy to share, if anyone is interested, just leave a message in the comments.  But sometimes you don't want healthy options or Artisan bread, sometimes you just want old fashioned white bread, reminiscent of what Grandma used to make, and if you do, this recipe is the one you want!

And if you don't have or want a bread machine, even though I can't understand why anybody wouldn't, go for it, make this and knead it by hand, proving to yourself that you are a true bread maker and that you don't need a pricey machine, it's much more rewarding to do it by hand.    

So go ahead,  whip up a loaf, and good luck with that 😉 Okay, so I'm kidding, ignore me, I'm just jealous of the bakers that put forth that much effort.  I'm all about making cooking as easy as possible in my old(er) age.

This is for a two pound loaf, if you have a mini Zo, just halve the recipe, easy peasy...

Hubby's Fave Buttermilk Bread

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups buttermilk, but if you don't have buttermilk, regular milk works fine

4 cups bread flour

1 ¼ teaspoon salt

4 Tablespoons sugar

1 ½ Tablespoons oil optional

1 ¾ teaspoons active dry yeast

Instructions

Use the basic setting with medium crust.

Follow the instructions that came with your bread machine in terms of which ingredients to put in the bread machine first.  

Notes

This is a recipe for a two-pound machine. You’ll be using the basic or white cycle with medium crust.

If time is short, you can make this recipe with the quick cycle of your bread machine substitute the active dry yeast with three teaspoons of fast-rising (rapid rise) yeast.

Don’t have buttermilk, but want that tangy taste? To make sour milk add one tablespoon of vinegar to one cup of room-temperature milk. (Adjust amounts as needed for each recipe.) Stir and wait about 5 minutes.

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