Bread Maker Pizza Dough Recipe

This is my favorite pizza dough recipe, ever! It's light and tasty, strong enough to hold up to lots of toppings, but with a tender crumb. It's easy to make, too, because it starts life in the bread machine. It does use quite a bit of yeast, so don't be surprised by the ingredients list. It's not a typo.

Ingredients
1 cup water
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons oil
1 tablespoon dry yeast

Directions
Add the ingredients to your bread maker in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Set the machine to the Dough cycle and let it run. When done, shape the dough into an 18” round pizza pan or pizza stone and let it rest for ten minutes before adding your favorite toppings. You can also use a sheet cake pan, if you don't have a pizza pan. If the dough is too stiff or springy when shaping, let it rest for a few minutes.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Cook the pizza on the middle oven rack for ten minutes, and then check for bubbles. If you see any large bubbles, pop them. Continue cooking for another 5 to 10 minutes until the crust is golden.

Makes enough dough for one 18” pizza, or 6 individual pizzas.

Bread Maker Recipe – Oatmeal Pecan Loaf

Needing to use up some of that oatmeal I have in my food storage, and having some pecans left over from one of my daughter's candy experiments, I realized I'd found the perfect storm for another bread maker recipe.

This is a modification of a recipe I found in a General Mills bread machine recipe book. It has a light nutty wheat flavor, with just a touch of “wildness” from the oats. It also has a soft texture and chew. The pecans add a nice texture change delightful “surprise” to each bite. I really like it for turkey, and other mildly flavored lunch-meat sandwiches. It also makes excellent toast.

Ingredients
1 1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons vital wheat gluten
1/4 teaspoon dough conditioner
1/2 cup of “old-fashioned” oats (not quick oats)
1/2 cup of pecans, chopped
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons dry milk
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons instant dry yeast

Directions
First, toast the pecans in a dry skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until they start to become dark brown, about 7 minutes. Do not let them burn!

Place the ingredients in the bread maker loaf pan in the order listed here, or the order recommended by your bread maker's manufacturer. Add the oats and pecans with the flour, not later.

Use the Basic/White cycle and select a light or medium crust, whatever your preference is.

When the bread is done, remove it from the pan. Place on a wire rack, covered with a light kitchen towel, until fully cooled.

This recipe makes a 1 1/2 pound loaf.

Bread Maker Recipe – Whole Wheat Bread

After some experimentation, and a return to the basics of just how flour and yeast work together, I've finally met one of my major food goals when it comes to bread making. I've come up with a satisfying 100% whole wheat recipe for the bread maker. It has a light crust and texture, and a gentle chew. The harsh tones normally found in whole wheat bread are greatly reduced.

I'm very excited about this. Now I can enjoy whole wheat bread – real whole wheat, not that stuff they call wheat bread in the grocery store – as daily bread.

We don't have to put up with mixing white flour with whole wheat flour for good results in the bread maker, anymore. We can increase our fiber intake and replace many of the simple carbs in our bread with more complex ones, and we don't have to give up fluffy texture or flavor.

Ingredients
1 cups plus 2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon vital wheat gluten
1 teaspoon dough conditioner
2 1/2 teaspoons yeast

Directions
Put the ingredients in the bread maker loaf pan in the order listed, or the order recommend by the manufacturer.* Use the whole wheat cycle, light crust.

When the cycle is complete, remove the bread from the pan and let it cool on a wire rack, covered by a kitchen towel, before slicing.

If you want a softer crust, try this secret trick. Once the bread has reached room temperature, place the loaf in a plastic bag and let it sit for an additional 30 minutes. This will ensure the remaining steam softens the crust.

Enjoy!

*In this recipe I actually violated the manufacturers suggestions. Sort of. In baking, sugar can be though of as a liquid, so I put the oil, salt and sugar in with the water, and then put the flour in, over the top. My feeling was that this would more evenly distribute the sugar and oil throughout the dough, before the yeast hit it and started working. I wasn't wrong. This simple step actually mad the difference between a passable loaf, and a tasty one.