Recipe: Herb Bread (Bread Machine)

This bread was fluffy, savoury and delicious.  With herbs like marjoram, thyme, chives and basil, it makes a wonderful addition to any pasta dish.  I served this the other night with my Savoury Pork Stew and it was perfect for soaking up all the delicious sauce.

Yes, I post alot of bread machine recipes.  Why?  Because they are so easy to make and sooo good.  I must make 2-3 loaves in my machine each week.  What could be better than always having your home smell like fresh bread?  Not having to turn your oven on in the summer is great too. 

I bought my bread machine 2 years ago at a thrift shop for $2.00.  I always see them for sale at garage sales and on Craig's List.  They were very popular in the 90's so you see many used one's for sale from this era.  If you do buy a used one, be sure it comes with a manual.

This was a "recipe bomb" that I made yesterday. 

I tried to make a regular whole wheat bread recipe in the machine... it didn't work :(

Although I use my machine alot and make sucessful loaves often, I do have my share of "recipe bombs" as well.  These are heartbreaking as it's such a waste of ingredients and, after smelling the bread baking for hours, you really look forward to eating it.  Usually the cause is using improper ingredients or recipes not meant for a machine.  It takes practice, but a good start is using your bread machine's recipes from the manual to get you started on sucessful loaves.

HERB BREAD
from Diabetic Gourmet

1 teaspoon Fast-rising yeast OR 2 teaspoons Active dry yeast (I used 2 teaspoons Bread Machine Yeast)
2 cups Bread flour
1 Tablespoon Dry milk
1 Tablespoon Sugar (I used Splenda for baking)
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Dried chives
1 teaspoon Marjoram
1 teaspoon Thyme
1 teaspoon Basil
1 tablespoon Margarine or butter
7/8 cup Water (77°-95°F)  (this was tough to measure so I did "just about" a cup)

Place all ingredients in the bread machine in the order suggested in your operator’s manual. (If using fresh herbs, double the amount called for.)

Select the white bread mode (I also selected dark crust); press start. This recipe can be made with regular, rapid or delayed-time bake cycles.

Makes one 1-pound loaf, for 16 servings.

Printable Recipe

Enjoy!

from the book "Food From Farm to Home"

written and illustrated by Walter Buer

1970, Morrow Junior Books