Mmmmmm..............Bread

I think I'm pretty safe in saying that most everybody loves bread.  Am I right?  I know my family & most of my friends & acquaintances do.  Well, I few years ago when we started cleaning up our diet I was disappointed when I went to the store to buy bread & discovered so many ingredients that I cannot pronounce on the labels.  There are a few "organic, clean" breads out there but they are hard to find & pretty expensive.  We decided to start making our own bread.  Over the past few years, I've perfect bread making for our family.  I usually make bread twice a week.  I thought I would share my bread making steps with you.  

A little over a year ago the hubs bought me a bread machine & that has been wonderful.  It came with a operating manual & I use the recipes in it to make my bread.  It has recipes for everything from white to wheat to raisin to rye & other varieties of breads.  It even has some cake & jelly recipes!!  

I usually make wheat bread.  I will make white bread & dessert breads as a treat occasionally but wheat is the staple bread for us. Before I add anything to the bread machine, I get all my ingredients out & ready to go.

I learned when I got my bread machine that you have to add your liquid ingredients first & then the dry.   I also learned to try to add my flour to make a hump in the middle.  Then I use my knife to make a well in the hump.  This is where I add the yeast.  When I have all ingredients added, I start the machine & it does its thing for me.  When I'm making wheat bread, I will have a perfect loaf in 3 hours 40 minutes.  There is nothing like the smell of fresh baking bread!!!

Now, we love to eat the bread......my girls love cheese toast & cinnamon toast.  The hubs loves better toast & love to use this bread to make garlic toast to go with supper.  Another favorite thing that I make from my bread is croutons!!  I never knew they were so easy to make.  And super easy!!  I cut the bread into cubes & let it dry overnight.  When I'm ready to bake them I first drizzle them with olive oil.  Then I add garlic salt.  I bake them at 375* for about 12-18 minutes.  These are also good with Parmesan cheese added before baking!!  Once they cool you are ready to use them in yummy soups & salads!!! 

Now I'm hungry!!  Time to go start supper!!!  YUM!!!