Basic White Bread Machine Bread

I keep on cranking out loaves of bread for my friends and family with my new bread machine from Cuisinart.  This white bread recipe is so easy to make, the ingredients are readily available in the grocery store and is preservative and chemical free.  Near the end of the second knead, use a spatula to make sure all of the ingredients have incorporated into the dough; scrape down the sides.  This recipe takes about 2 and a half hours until fresh, hot bread with little assistance from you.  Be sure to remove the paddle from the loaf when the machine beeps 6 times before the last rise.  It prevents your loaf from having a hole in the bottom.  This is the recipe for the large 2 lb loaf.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups Water, 80-90 degree F water
3 TBS unsalted butter, softened, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
3 TBS sugar or honey (I used honey)
1 1/2 tsp salt
4 cups Bread Flour
1/4 nonfat dry milk
2 tsp active dry, instant or bread machine yeast

Here's how:

Place the kneading paddle in the bread pan. Place all of the ingredients in the bread pan in the order listed. Do not let the yeast touch the wet ingredients. 

This is my bread machine

Water, butter, honey and salt in

Flour, dry milk and yeast in

Place the loaf pan into the machine. Make sure it is in securely in the machine. Failure to do this will cause the paddle to not be able to incorporate everything and the bread will not rise and it will be bad.

Press Menu and select the White setting. This should be the default setting.

Press Crust and select medium.  This should be the default setting.

Press Load and select 2 lbs.  This should be the default setting.

Press Start.

Near the end of the second knead, use your spatula to scrape down the sides to ensure everything gets incorporated.

When there is 45 minutes left, the machine will be six consecutive beeps, three times. This is telling you to take out the paddle. Remove it to prevent a hole in the bottom.

When the machine beeps to tell you it is done, use oven mitts to remove the loaf pan.

Turn out the loaf onto a cooling rack.

The loaf is done

Let the loaf cool completely before cutting for best results.