Here's one of my favourites. Please note my measurements are Australian - you will need to check the tablespoon measure and translate the metric stuff:
Brioche (you can use it to make croissants, or just a brioche in a mould, or add fruit - or anything). You can't set a timer for this one.
Liquid to make 370 ml - I break in at least 3 eggs, then add milk to make it up to 370 ml.
3 tablespoons sugar
60 g butter
two and a half teaspoons of dried yeast
Set it on DOUGH.
When it's done, tip it out onto a floured bench and shape it. After shaping it, brush it with egg wash (beaten egg, with a bit of milk). Be generous with the egg wash. May as well use it up.
Shape options:
Brioche: Dump the dough into a greased brioche mould (a fluted ring pan - I prefer a silicone one, it unmoulds as easy as ice cubes). Let it rise, brush it again right before baking. I tip it out after baking then bake the underside too, after giving that an egg wash as well.
Fruit scrolls: roll the dough out into a rectangle. Spread the rectangle with cooked apple and maybe other fruit if you want. Roll it up into a long sausage. Cut the sausage into 1" thick (or thicker if you want) rounds. Place the rounds on a pizza tray (or other round tray) so they're not quite touching. A cake tin is great. Let them rise, then bake for 180 degrees C until done. Drizzle some icing over the top.
Instead of using fruit, you can use custards, chocolate, nuts or whatever.
I also do a savoury version (with ordinary bread dough) using cheese, ham and olives. Or sun-dried tomato and pesto. Or whatever.
Croissants: Divide it in two. roll each part out thin, into a large circle. Spread each with softened butter (use real butter, not dairy spread. This needs to set hard in the fridge). Put one buttered circle on top of the other. Chill it if you can. Cut it into 8 pieces, pie-shape. Roll each pie sector up from the rim to the point at the centre. Finish with the point tucked underneath and just peeking out. Curve the roll around to the crescent shape, with the crescent horns AND the point on the side away from you. Put the croissant on a baking sheet. Make the rest. Let them rise in the fridge overnight, bake in preheated 180 C oven for 20-25 minutes for hot croissants in the morning.
Once you've played with these, dig through some ordinary recipe books and adapt them to the bread machine. What to watch for - the total weight of ingredients needs to match the weight in the bread machine recipe, so change the recipes to match. Some recipes won't work, because the people who wrote them originally never tested them. I have a pesto and pine-nut recipe that just won't rise properly because MY pesto has more salt in it, I think, than the one they used. So things can vary. I often just throw in a lot of basil leaves rather than using pesto.
And raisin bread - I've found it doesn' t work, our raisins are too big and soft and so they get pureed in. But sultanas work wonderfully, so do currants. Chopped up dried apricots are wonderful, especially with pecans. Goes well as a scroll with brioche dough.
Have fun!
Marg
