Bread Machine (125 page)

If you want to make a 2-pound loaf, use one and a half 1-pound mixes. I did find, though, that the 1
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-pound loaf is a good-sized loaf. Bread mixes can be mixed on the Dough cycle and hand-shaped into loaves to place in bread pans and bake in the oven.

Although every so often I want a plain bread from a mix, I found that the mixes dress up well. Don’t hesitate to add your favorite ingredients to make a personalized loaf. To a plain country white dough I added a tablespoon of hazelnut oil and then pressed the dough out on a baking sheet as for a focaccia, dimpled it after it was risen, and poured a lot of hazelnut oil all over the top. Then I sprinkled it with crumbled dried marjoram and coarse salt and baked it. It turned out chewy and the crust was incredible soaked with the nut oil. Have a little bit of marinara sauce left over from dinner? Let a French or Italian dough rise on the pan, dimple it, and spread with some of the marinara. I had some Parmesan cheese, which I sprinkled on top, and baked a wonderful pizza bread. I used the same dough and pressed fresh blueberries into the top, then sprinkled the whole thing with raw sugar before baking. It was fabulous for breakfast. You could use hazelnut oil or another nut oil. I was really impressed with the bread I got using a mix as the base, and often shaped it and baked it in my oven after mixing it in the bread machine. I was especially thrilled with the focaccia I created; they were moist and chewy. I recommend cutting focaccia made this way with kitchen shears rather than a knife.

When you make the recipes that follow, or experiment with your own additions to mixes, always open the lid and test the dough with a spatula 10 minutes into the kneading cycle, just as for other bread machine recipes. Often one to three teaspoons of water need to be added. It seems to be different each time. Use the following recipes as a guide (with any type of mix you like as the base) to creating unique breads in a flash. No one will ever guess they came from a mix.

FRESH HERB BREAD

1
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-POUND LOAF

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons water (for 14-ounce mix) or 1
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cups water (for 1-pound mix)

One 14-ounce or 1-pound box white or whole wheat bread machine mix

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cup chopped fresh herbs, any combination of parsley, chervil, basil, marjoram, sage, chives, mint, thyme, or lovage

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cup chopped hazelnuts

Grated zest of 1 lemon

2 teaspoons gluten

1 yeast packet (included in mix)

Place all the ingredients in the pan according to the order in the manufacturer’s instructions. Set the crust for dark and program for the Basic cycle; press Start.

When the baking cycle ends, immediately remove the bread from the pan and place it on a rack. Let cool to room temperature before slicing.

TOMATO FLATBREAD WITH MARJORAM
                  
Makes 1 focaccia

1
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-POUND LOAF

For the dough:

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons water (for 14-ounce mix) 1
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cups (for 1-pound mix) crushed tomatoes with their liquid or tomato sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil

One 14-ounce or 1-pound box white or whole wheat bread machine mix

1 yeast packet (included in mix)

Olive oil, for brushing

Yellow cornmeal, for sprinkling

For the topping:

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cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon dried marjoram, crushed

2 teaspoons dried basil, crushed

Coarse sea salt, for sprinkling

Place all the dough ingredients in the pan according to the order in the manufacturer’s instructions. Program for the Dough cycle; press Start. The dough will be pink.

Brush a rectangular baking sheet with some olive oil and sprinkle with cornmeal. When the machine beeps at the end of the cycle, immediately remove the bread pan and turn the dough out onto the baking sheet. With oiled fingers or a rolling pin, press and flatten the dough into a 1-inch-thick oval. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until doubled in height and puffy, 40 minutes.

Twenty minutes before baking, place a baking stone on the lowest rack of a cold oven and preheat it to 400ºF.

With your fingers held open, press into the dough all the way to the baking sheet to dimple. Drizzle with the
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cup olive oil and sprinkle with the herbs and the coarse salt. Bake for 18 to 23 minutes, until browned. Serve cut into squares with kitchen shears the day it is made, warm or at room temperature.

RED WINE—WALNUT WHOLE WHEAT BAGUETTES                 
Makes 2 baguettes

Place all the ingredients in the pan according to the order in the manufacturer’s instructions. Program for the Dough cycle; press Start.

Grease an 18-by-2-inch-wide baguette tray. When the machine beeps at the end of the Dough cycle, scrape the wet dough out with a dough card onto a floured work surface. Knead a few times with your dough card. Divide the dough into 2 equal portions. Flatten each portion into a thin 10-by-6-inch rectangle with the palm of your hand. Starting at a long end, roll up each, using your thumbs to help roll tightly. With the side of your hand, define a depression lengthwise down the center of the dough. Repeatedly fold the dough over in thirds the long way to make a tight log and pinch seams to seal. Stretch each log by rolling it on the table back and forth with your palms a few times to elongate. Gently transfer, seam side down, to the prepared pan. No dough will hang over the ends of the pans. Cover loosely with a clean tea towel and let rise at room temperature until doubled in bulk, about 40 minutes.