Spinach Feta Bread - Bread Machine Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How do I make my bread machine bread better? ›

Some recipes will advise adding sugar, which, in addition to making the bread a little sweet, helps the yeast to rise better. Others also suggest adding a little oil, such as olive or vegetable oil. This helps the dough form, preventing it from sticking to the sides of the pan, and makes the bread more tender.

The temperature and humidity level of the kitchen can make a big difference in the resulting loaf. If it's cold or drafty, your dough might take longer to proof properly. The bread machine is simply operating on a timer, so it can't know if your loaf didn't rise to double its size in the normally allocated time.

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.

Just be sure to use a flour with a high protein content. King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour, with its high gluten, is an excellent flour for bread machines. Numerous people have told us that their recipes worked in the bread machine using King Arthur, when they didn't work with other all-purpose flours.

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.

All it takes is a small amount of dough enhancer per loaf to create a much lighter and fluffier result. Using a dough enhancer like Vital Wheat Gluten works to improve the texture and elasticity of the dough and elongate the strands of gluten. Doing so allows more room for the gas in the dough to develop and rise.

The recipe you're using may include too much yeast, or the machine may be proofing the bread at too high a temperature, causing the loaf to be over-proofed before the baking cycle begins. Try reducing the amount of yeast by half and see what happens.

Once the first kneading is complete, a heating element provides just enough warmth for the dough to rise without baking it. Depending on the type of loaf you're making, the dough rises for anywhere from 5 to 40 minutes. Then, a second kneading takes place, as does an additional rise for most cycles.

Expired yeast or moisture contaminated yeast will have trouble growing properly and this can lead to dense bread machine bread. Always relatively new yeast & store it in an airtight container. For longer storage, the airtight container (sealed tight) should be stored in a refrigerator or freezer, Too much flour.

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.

Why do you put butter in a bread machine? ›

It makes bread soft, and it gives it a wonderful flavour and aroma. The mouthfeel of bread made with butter is smooth and pleasant.

The most shelf-stable and reliable type of yeast is instant yeast, and our favorite brands are SAF Red Label and Dr. Oetker.

While bread flour is more than adequate for everyday breads, some professional bakers use high-gluten flour with a 14% protein content to provide extra strength to dense, chewy doughs like bagels and pizza dough. High-gluten bread flour gives milk bread it's taut structure and compact (but tender) crumb.

King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour is perfect for bread machines. Its relatively high protein level (11.7%), and the quality of that protein, allows you to use it in recipes calling for either bread flour or all-purpose flour.

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.

You will need a bit more milk than the amount of water required (because of the milk solids). The dough will be softer, the crumb less open. You will have to bake it at lower temperatures than a lean bread. In other words, your bread will be more like a sandwich bread.