Easy White Bread- The Versatile Recipe

Back in 2008 when our country encountered the recession, I found myself struggling right along side the majority of middle class America.  Initially, our financial surplus went from just above what we needed to just below what we "needed."  I was forced to re-evaluate our spending. It was very difficult for me. Within 6 months into the recession, we had signed up for Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University and also hired a private financial coach to help us navigate through these difficult times. I learned a lot of very important lessons that really transformed my world view, and life application regarding money.

A big part of where we spent our money was on food. I desperately needed to re-learn how to spend our grocery money, and I was forced into an immediate crash course. Now in my mind, I had always desired to be a homemaker diva. Not in a snobby Martha Stewart kind of way, but in a chic Barefoot Contessa kind of way. ;) I wanted to be able to make my own breads, and a variety of delicious meals from scratch. I wanted my husband to see me as resourceful, and most of all I wanted to live below the provision that God had given our family. Now was my chance to take the next step in living my dream!

The first thing I wanted to conquer was to minimize the money we spent on baked goods. From bread, to tortillas to cookies and cake- I was determined I would make it all. I ended up purchasing a great bread machine off of Craigslist, and committed to myself that I would use it for more than making my challah dough. I talked myself into adventurous cooking and baking, and in the end fell in love with it.  If you know me personally, you know that I am definitely not a "plain Jane." I am spicy, artsy, creative, and bold... especially in my cooking.

When I came across this basic bread machine recipe for white bread, I liked it, but definitely wanted to make it my own. I always take my liberty to change it to whatever I want to. Sometimes I add fresh herbs like rosemary, thyme or dill. Other times I add spices (like cinnamon) and dried fruit. And other times, I replace the sugar with good honey, or exchange the butter with extra virgin olive oil.  Needless to say, the possibilities are endless!

Whatever I decided to use, my family has always enjoyed the fresh baked bread and it has cost us pennies on the dollar, compared to the breads I would usually purchase. It's delicious, fresh and made with tons of love.

Ingredients:
1 1/3 cups of warm water
4 tbspns  softened butter
2 tbspns sugar
4 tspns milk
2 tspns kosher salt
4 cups of bread flour
2 tspns of instant yeast

Place your ingredients in your bread machine in the order they were listed. Choose the white bread setting, press start, and walk away! If you want to delay the setting, you most certainly can. I like to time it so that the bread is baking in the bread machine by about 5 am. Sometimes, I'll set my coffee pot to brew at the same time. It is the most amazing scent to wake up to!

If you want to bake it in your oven, just set the setting  to "dough," and then when it beeps (about 90 mins later), take it out, knead it, shape it, baste it, and bake it at 350 degrees for about half an hour.

This is really a no fail recipe! Your family will love it, and so will you. Apart from it's total deliciousness, I LOVE how it makes my home smell. It's warm, welcoming and says, "I love you!"
I guess you can see that I really like bread. :)

I hope you get to try this recipe. Enjoy!

P.S. My favorite combo is to add fresh rosemary (as much or as little as you like), replace the butter with olive oil, baste the bread with olive oil, and sprinkle with kosher salt. Bake it, and eat with pleasure! :)

(a pic of the baked bread will be up soon.)