WHO Bread!

So here, my friends, is the recipe for the WHO Bread I photographed last week. And here's a little surprise about it (and me): it's a bread machine recipe. I know, I know. You're surprised, aren't you?

I will admit - I wasn't interested in a bread machine for um, years. I'm not only stubborn, but I get a little skeptical about the latest and greatest 'thing' we're supposed to 'need'. Truth be told, elaborate kitchen gadgetry kind of irritates me (where to put it all?, to begin with). But then...last year I found myself staring right at a brand new one at a yard sale for $2 (I think used & good condition bread machines are plentiful in the thrift world), and I thought I should give it a try instead of just grumping about them, as I had been doing. I won't say that I'm hooked - I really love making bread by hand. I truly do. The entire process of baking bread by hand gives me so much pleasure. Except for the times when it doesn't give me so much pleasure. And then I happily use the bread machine.

We had experimented with a few different recipes, and never quite found one we liked. So we scratched them all and came up with one of our own. It's basic, but we think it's pretty yummy. When we make it, it's usually our 10 o'clock-ish snack - our 'second breakfast' if you will (c'mon - don't you have at least three?)

My absolute favorite part of making this bread (which is likely no surprise), is that the kids can be so easily involved. Ezra - who loves to cook- writes & draws the recipe over and over and can nearly do the process entirely by himself. If it weren't tasty anyway, the feeling of success that it gives him would win me over too.

WHO Bread

(makes 1.5 lb loaf, set to 'basic' with medium crust)

1 1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons butter @ room temperature
1 tsp salt
3 cups of flour (we do 2 cups unbleached white, 1 cup whole wheat pastry)
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast (or, one package)

Enjoy! (And Happy Valentines Day!)

Comments

[anne]

thank you, I don't hava a machine, but I will try the bread anyway. (don't like bread machines, since my parents machine suddenly burned...) I love cinnamon on my oatmeel porridge, but have never thought about having it in the bread. Thanks again.

[kristin]

mmm.. ten o'clock toastime. :) my favorite snacktime of the morning. your comment about bread machines at thrift stores is quite funny - the one we received as a gift (and never use) is so close to being donated to join the masses. enjoy your bread this morning soules.

[Lisa Z]

I'd be interested in a little used bread machine discussion here. If I see a used one and it's not one of the more spendy brands that I know are good (like Zorojushi or however you spell it), are there brands I might find that are better than others? I had a cheaper one from Target years ago but it only lasted about a year. I would never buy a cheap, new one again because of the "planned obsolescence" built into these products. However, I would not feel so bad grabbing one secondhand if I thought it worked okay.

Complicated question? Sorry, it's early in the morning and I'm sick! Anybody got any advice, though?

[kristin]

oh, and how sweet are those recipe illlustrations? very cute.

[jean]

oh lordy, this looks good. We've been on the fence about a machine for a long time. We've certainly bought one over and over buying bread at the bakery. This looks delicious!!

[QALBALLAH]

Want a bread machine so much - I'm allergic to raw flour - but our thrift stores aren't as generous as yours! Will keep recipe for as and when. Looks yummy.

[Eren]

Its a snow day here at the beach, so I think we have just found our morning project. And I am with you on gadgets. But my husband is the gadget man, so we have a bread machine...ahem, for him not me.

[camerashymomma]

yum!! thanks for the recipe. i also wonder where to put all these necessities... but it sure is nice to be playing with your child while the machine does the work! (boy that sounds like something from the space age... terrible!) your recipe sounds wonderful with the oats and cinnamon!

[Am]

Thank you so much for this recipe- I can't wait to try it!

[wendy]

Thank you!

[hazeljoy]

second and third breakfasts? are you hobbits? xx

[coffeechris]

Yum! Thanks for the recipe, I do have a bread machine and plan the ingredients...so it will be a nice Valentine's Day Treat for the Family. I was like you not wanting one, until I went to a local cooking store and they showed good healthy yummy cooking with the temperance that it doesn't replace home/handmade bread. It does take some experimenting, good the children can make it a learning fun experience. Happy Valentine's Day.

[Lindsey]

Mmm, we love second breakfasts here! I make most of our bread by hand, too. The hole from the paddle in bread machine bread is a source of annoyance for many in our house. I've been waiting for you to post this recipe and am excited to try it out when our current loaves are depleted. It will probably be a good weekend snack!

[bobbi]

hey amanda,

like you, i have a thrift store bread machine. at first, i felt a bit hypocritical using it because i like things HAND made. plus, i didn't like the bread that much.

here's the best of both worlds: find a great recipe or two, and use the machine to mix and rise the dough the first time. THEN, shape and bake! i am pretty close to making all of the bread for my family, in a really short amount of time! and with my homemade jam in the morning for breakfast, it's as if it all happened from scratch :)

[Ruth]

We love our bread machine... though I hardly ever bake in it. I have always made my own bread, and find now that letting the machine mix, knead, rise and punch down the dough on the "dough" setting saves me a considerable amount of time and mess (and I can always give it a little extra kneading by hand if I want that tactile pleasure). I prefer to bake the actual loaf either freeform or in a loaf pan in our oven.

Black and Decker has been a reliable brand for us - though nothing lasts forever.

[Elizabeth]

I just love my bread machine. I decided to buy one as I got mighty fed up with shop-bought bread stinking of vinegar when it was toasted (it's used as a preservative apparently). I've now had my machine approx. 3 1/2 years and haven't bought a loaf of bread since. Your recipe sounds wonderful, I'll have to give it a try.

[Kate]

Poo...we have no bread machine here. I might try to incorporate these ingredients into a recipe we already use. Thanks for sharing!
Happy Valentines Day to all the Soule's :)

[Bad Hippie]

Thank you! I've been looking for an alternative recipe to the ones in my bread machine book!

I can't buy bread because I'm allergic to corn and HFCF, both found in traditional breads. So this will be lovely to try this weekend!

[jo]

seriously, where do you put all these gadgets.
my husband is addicted to buying them and we live in brooklyn, so you can imagine how huge our kitchen is, note the sarcasm.
Currently we have a juicer that is the size of our 2 cats, on the counter that i have yet to see him use it.
But homemade bread is great no matter how it is made!!!

[luckybeans]

We can't buy whole wheat bread here, so I truly love my breadmaker. We use a very similar recipe quite often, too, but we use milk/ soy milk instead of water and no sugar.

All the way around the world, we are enjoying similar breakfast bread. Who knew? :)

(Bella is the baker in our house, and definitely part hobbit as far as meals are concerned).

[Anne]

Thank you for the recipe; we have to make it just because of the name.

[kerry]

Oh my we are so alike I LOVE making bread by hand, unless I don't :-) and I've been using a bread machine to do the kneading and rising (then baking in the regular oven) for about 8 years now. Same machine, which was a birthday gift.

HOWEVER I prefer making bread by hand because I can make several loaves at a time. So now I want a kitchenaid mixer so I can make homemade bread when I don't want to spend time kneading or thinking about "the bread dough". Someday the breadmaker motor will burn out, they all do eventually and I'll get that mixer. Until then I have several well loved whisks and a breadmaker I try to hide. :-)

[Grace]

The mom of one of my cello students found a brand new Zojirushi bread machine at a thrift store for $2 or $3 last summer, and since they already had one (that they'd paid full price for), they gave it to me! I was really happy about it, although I admit to using it less than I expected to ... for the reasons you describe here. But armed with your recipe, we just may give it another go!

[Marmotte]

Great, thanks for the recipe, i try it this we...

[Danielle]

I have to say, I have the same all mixed up feelings about bread machines. I LOVE making bread. I think it is the one thing that symobolizes my love and admiration for my family. I got a bread machine for Christmas this year and I have to say that I am not over-enthused. It just isn't quite the same a making it by hand BUT on the flip side it is SO NICE to throw it all in there and come back three hours later to a fresh loaf of bread! No kneading or staying close the the kitchen all day. SO it is so nice to see this recipe. I will try it very soon. Thank you!

[Carrie]

I love the children's illustrated instructions!
Happy Valentine's day to you and your little loveys!

[Danette Marcoccia]

Hi,
I've been enjoying your blog for awhile now and have been too bashful to comment but have found common ground in bread. Although I don't have a machine due to lack of space I love fresh bread and cinnamon. Two of my favorite things. I enjoy a couple of breakfast in the morning as well. Anyway Happy Valentines to you. Thanks for all the inspiration!

[Jane]

Oh I'm delighted it's a breadmachine recipe, as I don't have an oven and it makes me sad that I usually can't try all the lovely recipes! (Being a grad student means cheap rent + breadmachine trumps nice home + oven). Thanks, can't wait to try it!

[kat]

a friend gave me her bread machine a few years ago, & i shoved it deep into a cupboard. i too am not a kitchen machine person. eventually i gave it away. then we learned thehobbit couldn't tolerate wheat. i sure would like that free bread machine now!
my kitchen love affair is with a crockpot. i saw no reason for one, & looked sideways at all my friends as they gushed about theirs. i caved under pressure, & bought a year ago... we're thinking of eloping this march.
happy valentine's day!

[lkb]

Sounds delicious. Any thoughts on how to adapt the recipe for a regular-old-traditional preparation? (i don't have a bread machine! and i've only made bread a few times...)

[sarah]

oh. we just pulled warm whole wheat bread out of the oven last night. perhaps WHO bread will be next weeks bread making extravaganza.

[Wendy]

Oh thank you so much for the recipe, Amanda. We've been 'test driving' a friend's bread machine to see if it was worth buying (to see if we'd actually use it). And though I agree with you that it is wonderful to make it yourself, fresh made bread happens a lot more often with a bread machine, especially in our house.

I do have one question that I'm sure that you or one of your readers would have an answer for...

Do any of you have a bread machine recipe for Whole Wheat Bread that doesn't turn out bitter!?!

[CodeCrafter]

Thanks for the recipe! It looks so tasty. I can't wait to try it out.

I have a bread machine that was a wedding gift that I have a love-hate relationship with. I love the idea of fresh bread and a bread machine like mine with a delay timer seems great because I work outside the home for much of the day so making bread by hand is pretty much out during the week. However, I have never been all that satisfied with the bread that comes out of it. For a long time it has sat in the cupboard unused and I didn't put much effort into figuring out how to get good bread out of it. However, recently I have a renewed interesting in baking in general so I have been trying to bend the machine to my will.

[greenemother]

oh, thank you. My husband is actually the bread maker in the family. I'm so forgetful, that bread making, with so many steps, always leaves me with half risen dough in a bowl! Anyway, I have definitly contemplated getting a bread maker(same issues about where to put it all), but didn't want to pay the full price, especially if one can do without it. My husband found a new pasta maker for about the same price, and boy, there's nothing as delicious as fresh pasta made 20 mins. earlier!
Thanks for the recipe!

[lena]

:) I envy your life!

i use my machine because it has a delay timer and i can have warm bread with my soup from the crock pot when my husband and i come home from work. i hope someday i'll be home with the babies to make "real" bread but for now, the machine is mighty useful!

beautiful blog by the way. i love stopping by.

[Dharmamama]

Just to let you know...

Since it looks like you're a booklover like I am...

I pre-ordered your book the other day.

Today, I went to Amazon to see a close-up of the cover. (cute! BTW) I noticed you could browse a bit inside the book. I started to do that - oh, boy! I can read some of it already! Then I got the worst feeling... a realization that I needed to stop, so I could have that new-book rush of excitement when I finally held it in my hands. lol Such a mix of feelings.

I can hardly wait.

peace to you and your family ~

[Jennifer]

I love home made bread and I actually like making it. I would consider getting a breadmaker just cause it's so easy. I live in New York City and space is definately an issue. If I could find one that isn't HUGE I would probably give it a try.
I love your blog by the way. I just started my own and I have to say it's quite addicting.

[Jen]

The giant, dense square loaf is a dead giveaway, and blelieve it or not, the one thing that keeps me from getting a bread machine! Tell me the loaves tastes as light as handmade, and convince me I need one of these! :)

[Carrie]

Thanks for the info.. I'm in the same boat as someone mentioned above. Gifted a bread machine last year and so far it's been underwhelming. But I keep trying, so this recipe will be up next!

[The List Writer]

Thanks for the recipe! I love my bread machine - I've had it for nearly 3 years and use it pretty much daily making either loaves or rolls for the family.

This has all my favourite things in it - honey, oats & cinnamon. Yum - I will be trying it tomorrow.

[Rae]

This will be the perfect recipe to make for breakfast this Saturday morning. My family and I relish Saturday AM's when we can all gather to talk and eat over a homemade breakfast. Thank you for your generosity and sharing this recipe with us all!

[Sharyn (Torm)]

well. darnit. I think that was my bread machine you bought, and now I'm suddenly itching to have it back. LOL
Alas...I didn't have room for it, and I do enjoy the kneading process.

[aisling]

I will definitely try this recipe. We use the bread machine from time to time, not much bread baking from scratch here, except banana & pumpkin bread.

[Sheila]

I love baking my own bread but with the rate our little loveies go through bread I couldn't keep up and still go to work and I will not buy store bread as I like control of all the stuff going in...so a bread machine has really saved us. I buy og unbleached flour in bulk through our co-op and also any other flours I am looking to use this week! Plus ours has a delay button so we can wake up to the smell of fresh baked bread...yeah we are spoilt...

[Annie]

I will try this! I have a machine that has only been used ONCE. The bread just wasn't that great so I haven't tried it since. HOpefully this will be a lot better!

[rebecca]

i look forward to trying this recipe. thanks for posting it. it would be wonderful to have a download of one of ezra's illustrated versions. perhaps a soulefood cookbook is in the works? once calder gets older hopefully i'll remember to have him illustrate our favorite recipes.

[Ram in the Thicket]

I have a Williams Sonoma bread maker and I've used it several times a week for 3 years now and love it. I have 2 basic recipes I use over and over, an oatmeal bread and a potato bread. The only time we've purchased bread in the past 3 years were when I had my baby last Summer and was getting settled in. Hubby insisted on buying bread to help me ;o) Oh, and I bought it on ebay for $38. It was someone's unwanted gift and was new! It has been well worth the price :o)

[lewlew]

I was anti-bread machine too, until I realized I couldn't keep bread in the house!
With four small kids, it was hard to get to the store, so we bought a machine just to try since nursing while kneading is a little tricky. For a while we just made it every night so it was ready for the next day--our daily loaf.
It's been put away for some time now, but you've inspired me to make your recipe. Thanks!

[Jess]

I love second breakfast...usually much more thought out than first-I'm-starving breakfast...

we gave our bread machine away...and I don't miss it.

[SaraSusyBob]

I have so enjoyed finding your blog. I loved your 30 day pictures. I was so inspired to have fun photographing instead of trying to always capture the perfect expression. I have begun to look for other ways to show the world immediately around me. Thank you for hte bread recipe. I'm right there with you in the bread machine. I have one, had it for years, never really used it much. I'm going to try this recipe though. Thank you! Have a great Valentine's Day. You have brought me a simple joy today...a joy that I needed! thank you.