What’s better than having fresh homemade bread? The fact that you can easily “make” it yourself with your bread machine. We’ve been solely making our own bread for the past couple weeks and it’s been so great. I’ve had this bread machine sitting on the shelf collecting dust for a couple years now. Then I vowed to start going Zero Waste and instead of finding a bakery I could buy a loaf without the packaging, I just decided to start making my own.
First step is to find a bread machine, whether you buy one or find one on your local Buy Nothing FB group(sadly people don’t tend to use there’s and it sits on the shelf). I suggest buying one with multiple features and sizes like mine. Second, find an easy recipe with limited effort on your part – like the basic white bread recipe below. Thirdly, find your “routine” – how often will you make a new loaf, what time of day. We make a new loaf every 2-3 days, I’ll throw all the ingredients in the machine and hit the start button and 3 hours later I’ll have a fresh loaf and be prepared for the morning. Lastly, find the way you’ll store your bread. I’ve found ours stay fresh the longest in a large cloth bag(found on Amazon) inside a bread box that I found on my Buy Nothing FB group.
This basic white bread recipe is SO simple, seriously your child could prepare it! Although it takes about 3 hours to be complete, your prep time is 5 minutes and that’s all! So, like we do set 5 minutes of your time aside and forget about for 3 hours. The recipe’s for a 1 1/2 – 2 lb bread machine. And no need for bread flour, this is made with all-purpose flour.
Pull out your bread machine, plug in and open the lid. Pour in ALL your ingredients by order, literally that’s all you have to do. Close the lid, choose your settings and click start.
After the bread is all done, carefully remove the pan from the machine and leave on the counter for 5 minutes. To get the bread out, carefully shake it and place in storage. 
Serve warm or cold, do as you wish. Just store it properly for freshness and so it doesn’t go stale quickly. If you don’t have a cloth bag or a bread box, a freezer side ziplock bag or air tight container will do too. 
Don’t forget to save the photo below to make the recipe later!
Basic White Bread in the bread machine
Ingredients
- 1 cup lukewarm water
- 1/3 cup lukewarm milk
- 3 Tbsp melted butter
- 3 Tbsp sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast or instant yeast
- 3 3/4 cup all purpose flour
Instructions
- 1. Pour in ALL your ingredients by order into the bread machine. 2. Close the lid, choose your settings and click start. 3. After the bread is all done, carefully remove the pan from the machine and leave on the counter for 5 minutes. To get the bread out, carefully shake it and place in storage. 4. Serve warm or cold, do as you wish. Just store it properly for freshness and so it doesn't go stale quickly.
