It’s January, winter is a time we all seem to need some comfort food to warm our bellies and our souls. To quote Oprah, “I love bread!”. The other day I was in the mood for beef stew and, of course, that requires tasty, crusty bread. Remember bread machines, the “hot” food appliance of the nineties? If you don’t have time to knead, rise and bake by hand…….
1 package yeast
2 ¼ c. bread flour (I prefer King Arthur)
¾ c. whole wheat flour
½ t. salt
4 T. sugar
½ t. cinnamon
¼ t. nutmeg
2/3 c. warm applesauce
1 T. unsalted butter
½ c. warm unsweetened apple juice
½ c. apple, peeled and chopped fine
Put all ingredients in bread machine pan, in order as listed in your instruction guide, or as listed above. (some machines prefer the yeast added after dry ingredients) Use the white bread setting on your machine and press start. This bread is not suitable for the delayed timer mode.
If you have the time and love to make bread, you can mix the dough and hand knead until smooth and silky, about 10-15 minutes. Let rise until double in size, about 1-1/2 hour. Shape into two loaves. Let rise a second time, until double, about 45 min. Bake at 350 degrees, about 40 minutes.