A Man & His Bread Machine

Oh, he's a man of many talents: he can purify proteins, amplify genes, and he knows what sine oculis is (I still can't tell you what said "sine oculis" is, despite the fact that he tells me about it every evening at dinner). Did I mention that he makes bread? Yep, he's my husband :) (side note: he was a bit resistant to me taking this early-morning photograph)

Last summer, Adam returned enthusiastically to our house after his usual run holding a large, white Bread Machine in his hands. "Look what I got! For free!" Apparently our neighbor was so desperate to get rid of this bread-producing electronic box that she was willing to hand it over, at no cost, to my sweet, enthusiastic husband. And so we added yet another large piece of random cooking equipment to our cabinets.

The bread machine was revived in December though, with more zeal than ever. I got Adam Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food-- a book which argues that the food we consume should be whole and natural, with little to no processing at all. Adam jumped on Pollan's bandwagon, and proclaimed to me one night while we were reading in bed that he no longer wanted to purchase bread at the store, but would rather make it from scratch each week. Really?

Well, I can honestly say the man is true to his words. He pulls out that ridiculous, yet amazing, Bread Machine every Sunday and makes a loaf of bread for the week...every week! It's basic and simple, but I suppose that's what Mr. Pollan would want.

So, if you've got a desperate neighbor trying to up the feng shui-factor of her kitchen and unload an unwieldy bread machine, take her up on it. You might junk up another cabinet, but your body will surely thank you for consuming preservative-free bread :)

Basic Bread Machine Bread

(adapted from this recipe found at allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup warm water
• 2 TBSP sugar
• 1 packet active, dry yeast (or 2 1/4 teaspoons)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 cups of unbleached flour (Gold Medal "Better for Bread" flour is awesome!)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 TBSP flaxseed (optional)

Directions:

1) Pour warm water in the bread machine pan. Add sugar and sprinkle yeast on top. Allow to sit for 10 minutes, until foamy.

2) Add oil. Pour flour, salt, and flaxseed on top (do not stir!)

3) Select the option on your bread machine for a regular/light loaf

*Variation: you can substitute up to 1/2 cup whole wheat flour and get a bread that is the same consistency. The more whole wheat flour you add after the 1/2 cup, however, the more dense the bread will become.