You may have noticed that sometimes bread from the bread machine turns out a bit tough and chewy. This is because of the gluten created during the baking process. This gluten gives the structure to the bread when it has risen, however too much gluten makes the loaf tough. Another factor that can affect how tough the bread turns out is kneading, using a bread machine makes it difficult to control the kneading process, and sometimes the bread is over kneaded. These recipes aim to overcome these problems and produce a softer loaf.
Soft Bread Machine Recipe
Author: Amy
Recipe Type: Bread
Prep Time:
Bake Time:
:
Ingredients
2 lb. Loaf Recipe:
- ⅔ cup warm water
- ⅔ cup buttermilk
- 4 tablespoons white sugar
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 cups bread flour
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 teaspoons dry yeast
1.5 lb Loaf Recipe
- cup warm water
- cup buttermilk
- 3 tablespoons white sugar
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 ½ cups bread flour
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2¼ teaspoons dry yeast
Instructions
- Start off by assembling the bread machine and laying out all of the ingredients. In this recipe you will be using the baking pan, kneading paddles, dough pen and cooling rack.
- Now you can add all the ingredients into the machine in the order they are listed. By replacing half the high-protein bread flour with all-purpose flour we will reduce the tough texture of the bread. The buttermilk in the recipe helps to lessen the formation of gluten, again resulting in softer bread.
- When all the ingredients have been added you can close the lid and press the knead button (on some machines this will be automatic). After approximately ten minutes of kneading has past, you should lift the lid and test the dough with a wooden spoon. Decide whether it needs extra water or flour to get the correct consistency. Close the lid and knead for a minute longer.
- Now the dough is ready to be baked. You should set the machine to “basic bread machine” and it will then bake. Once it is ready, take the bread out and place it on to the cooling rack.
- Tips and Suggestions: This is such a simple recipe that it is an excellent activity for children. Get them involved in baking by having them add the ingredients to the bread machine. They will also love the soft, white bread (although maybe you will have to remove the crusts!). The best time to make this bread is early in the day. Get the machine ready to go at 11 am and by lunchtime you’ll have a freshly baked loaf. Some machines have timers on. So you could set the machine to begin baking at 6 am and you’ll be waking up to warm fresh bread! Yum!
Nutrition Information
Calories: 155 Fat: 2 g saturated fat Carbs: 33 g Protein: 3.5 g Cholesterol: 17 mg
Enjoy another great recipe for soft bread in your bread machine.
What are the measurements for the milk and buttermilk for the 1.5 loaf?
1 cup of buttermilk for the 1.5 pound loaf.
Ok, but why does the 2.0 lb loaf call 2/3 cup of water and buttermilk but the 1.5 lb loaf is 1 cup both?
I thought the same thing. Since there was no reply, did you end up reducing to a 1/2 cup? That’s what I was going to try.
I’m interested in this recipe. Did reducing the milk and water to 1/2 cup work for you?
Is the 1.5 lb. loaf printed correctly?
Awesome bread! I eliminated step 3 and put wet ingredients, dry ingredients and yeast in my bread machine on the “basic” setting for a “light” crust. It turned out perfect. It makes a really good toast to go with bacon and eggs!
I want to try half whole wheat flour and half all purpose next time and see how that does. (I am diabetic so trying to be as good as I can.)
Thanks for the fabulous recipe! I am new at this and have tried several. Yours is the best I have tried!
Oops! Forgot the stars . . . I don’t see a 10 so I will settle for 5.
For the 1.5 loaf of white bread, how much water and how much buttermilk?
I’ve tried so many bread recipes and this is my go-to recipe. It makes soft, delicious bread. I never have buttermilk on hand (even though I love it) so I use the milk/lemon juice trick. Works great. I use the dough setting and it makes a large loaf, so I break off a chunk of dough and make a few rolls too. They turn out awesome!