Spinach Feta Bread - Bread Machine Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Can you use boxed bread mix in a bread machine? ›

Rather than spending hours in your kitchen mixing, kneading, rising, punching down, shaping, rising again, and baking, you can set your bread machine and forget it. The only thing that can make using a bread machine any easier is starting with a bread mix.

Bread made from your bread machine is best eaten on the same day, however if kept in an airtight container will last for 2 to 3 days depending on the type. Most bread types can be kept in the freezer. If the bread is slightly stale it can be used for bread pudding, croutons or baked French toast to save wasting it.

A motor turns a paddle to mix and knead the dough just the right amount. A heating element provides the gentle warmth needed for rising and, when it's ready, the higher temperature needed for baking. You add the ingredients, and the bread machine makes and bakes the bread in one handy appliance.

Sourdough bread baked in a bread machine? Not only is it possible — it's delicious! This high-rising loaf, with its soft crumb, makes ideal sandwiches and toast. Since it uses a lot of starter, the flavor will vary from baker to baker: if your starter is very sour, the loaf will reflect that.

Making bread from a machine is marginally cheaper than buying it, as long as you eat bread frequently enough to offset the cost of the appliance. Specifically, I see this as an investment that's smart for households that go through bread quickly, like large families or homes with multiple roommates.

Some bread mixes for a bread machine include French bread, whole wheat bread, sourdough bread, and cinnamon raisin bread. You can find pre-made bread mixes at most grocery stores or online.

Some attribute the demise of the bread machine to the fact that cooks were just disappointed by their results. Lara Pizzorno, the author of Bread Machine Baking, chalked it up to food snobs who regarded the machine as “the electric equivalent of The Bridges of Madison County” in a 1996 article in The New York Times.

One disadvantage of using a bread maker as opposed to your hands is that the paddles are typically fixed, meaning they remain in the dough when baking, often leaving a hole in the middle of the loaf. Whilst this is not the biggest hinderance, it can be an annoyance to those who aim for gold standard loaves.

Too much heat or humidity might lead to a too-quick rise and a crevice near the center of your bread. Conditions that are too cold might delay proofing or rising, resulting in a super-dense loaf. The bread machine works on a timer and hums along at its regular pace.

If you enjoy making bread at home and want to have more control over the ingredients and customization of your bread, a bread maker can be a good investment. Additionally, it can save you money in the long run compared to buying store-bought bread.

What is the best order to put ingredients in a bread machine? ›

Adding Ingredients to the Bread Machine

Manufacturers usually recommend adding the liquids first, followed by dry ingredients, with the yeast going in last. This keeps the yeast away from the liquid ingredients until kneading begins.

But this countertop appliance can also make a lot more than just loaves of bread, from pizza dough, cinnamon rolls, hamburger and hot dog buns, and even doughnuts. Many of these recipes require just a few simple ingredients, making it easy to get a warm loaf of bread or other treats on the table.

So yes, you should use bread flour in the recipe. It has higher protein than all-purpose flour and will help your bread rise better and hold its shape.

Both commercial dry yeast and instant yeast are suitable for bread machines because they are designed to be added directly to the dry ingredients, and they don't require proofing in water before use.

Most bread machine manuals and cookbooks call for bread flour rather than all-purpose flour. King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour, because it's higher in gluten than national brands of all-purpose flour, works perfectly in the bread machine.

A Bread Flour will need the addition of other ingredients for a good loaf such as salt, sugar and bread improvers together with yeast and water. The alternative is a Bread Mix which is a bread flour which has everything already blended to the correct proportions and simply needs the addition of yeast and water.

Too little yeast, your bread won't rise sufficiently; too much, and it will rise and collapse. It's important to watch your dough as it rises and bakes; dough that has risen and collapsed may look just like dough that never rose at all, once it's baked.

Both commercial dry yeast and instant yeast are suitable for bread machines because they are designed to be added directly to the dry ingredients, and they don't require proofing in water before use.