Back when we got our first bread machine (early 90's), I got several books. My favorite is The Bread Machine Bakery Book by Richard W Langer.You have awesome timing - Jess "put it away" a couple of years ago and I have been searching for it since then. She finally found it, inside another cookbook where she had been comparing the bread machine recipe to the regular bread recipes, just a week ago.
We loved this Basic Oatmeal Bread:
1c milk, whole or skim (we always use skim)
2 T butter or canola oil (we use canola or vegetable oil)
2 c bread flour (can use reg but may need to add gluten)
1 c uncooked oatmeal (not instant but can be quick cooking or old fashioned - both work well)
2 T brown sugar (can sub reg sugar if you don't have brown)
1/4 to 1 t salt to taste (we used 1/2 tsp)
1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
Put in bread machine following order given by manufacturer (some models want liquid first, yeast last, some are the other way around). This makes a hearty but not too heavy loaf of bread that is flavorful. My kids love it - I used to have to hide it if I didn't want it scarfed before it cooled.
Tip: You may find that you get much better results if you mix the dry ingredients, at least the yeast, flour, sugar and salt, together. DO NOT put the yeast in and plop the salt on top. The yeast will not grow if the salt is right there on it.
Tip: To have fresh bread waiting in the morning, many machines have a timer function. It is unwise to put milk, eggs, or other ingredients that will spoil in the machine if you are using this function. Butter is actually safe as long as it isn't sitting for more than a day. To use a recipe taht calls for milk, use powdered milk and water - mix the powdered milk with the flour or put it in with the dry ingredients. To make 1 cup of milk, use 1 cup water and 1/3 cup dry milk. I often add a bit of dry milk powder when using regular milk. This doesn't change the bread noticeably in most basic bread recipes and it boosts the calcium a bit. Every little bit of calcium boost helps kids, esp girls.
Tip: If you really like a recipe, make it into a bread mix. When you measure out a loaf into the machine, measure several more into ziplocs or plastic containers. Just put the dry ingredients in (it can be helpful to use powdered milk for this, then you can just add water instead of milk) and seal the bag. Write the directions for the liquid ingred, and yeast, on the bag or write them on a piece of paper and stick it into the ziploc. This makes it super fast to make mroe bread, and it adds just a few minutes to the prep time for the loaf you are making. be sure to NOT put butter into the dry ingred (husband did this and it made a big mess). If you want to put the yeast in the recipe, store the mix in the freezer and let it come to room temp before making the bread. If you have friends with bread makers, this makes a nice gift.
Sally Lunn bread is richer, but is a favorite of my kids:
3/4 c milk (or 4 1/2 T of dry milk and 3/4 c water)
2 eggs
6 t butter or margarine (butter is better)
2 c unbleached all purpose flour
1/4 c sugar
1/2 tsp salt (can drop to 1/4 if sodium is a concern, but you need at least 1/4 tsp)
2 t active dry yeast
Put into machine in the order specified by the bread machine directions. Add eggs to milk, cut butter into chunks so it will mix better.
Experiment with the spices you add to your bread. For garlic bread I often add 1/2 tsp of oregano or Italian seasoning, and 1 tsp of fresh minced garlic or 1/2 tsp of granulated garlic. experiment with the amt of type of spices to find what you like.
Different recipes call for different amounts of yeast, as do different size loaves of bread. This makes those little packets of yeast quite a nuisance, in my opinion. The little jars are not bad, but can be expensive at the grocery. Check natural food stores to see if they sell yeast in bulk. Around here they buy big containers and then repackage them. It costs a LOT less to buy them from the natural food stores than to get the little jars at the grocery. It is even cheaper to get the 2 pound deal at Sams (2 pounds of yeast for just under $5 here - in 2 one pound packages) even if you give away or end up tossing 3/4 of it (our groceries charge around $6 or $7 for 4 ounces of yeast in a little jar).
If you have a specific recipe you like, potato bread, whole wheat, anadama bread, etc.... let me know and I will tell you if I have it. I have several recipe books for the bread maker.
Some recipes, esp those with whole grains in them, will need help rising. Vital wheat gluten, sold near flour/yeast, is that help. Directions will be on the box or in many bread maker books and online. If you are making pizza dough, cinnamon rolls, etc..., you may find it hard to stretch the dough out enough. They do sell dough relaxers that are a big help with this. King Arthur Flour makes a great one. It is NOT necessary, but can be helpful. I tend to use a rolling pin, and my kids like really thick crust pizza, so I let them deal with that, lol.
Preserves end up being a horrible, huge mess to clean up. husband tried it once and we had to clean the entire insides of the machine - not just the pan. It was awful - esp because husband didn't see why HE had to clean it. I was the one who told him it was NOT worth doing, and he still thought that either I or jess should clean it. He got the point when I put his wallet in the nasty mess and offered to turn it on.
