Soft, fluffy, and slightly sweet – if you’re looking for a delightful bread to add to your weeknight dinner, try throwing this in your nearest bread maker!

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A lady can only bake hard bread in a slow cooker so many times before getting irritated. As grateful as I am for my slow cooker, it just wasn’t creating soft breads that I was craving. So I caved and bought myself a breadmaker.

Oh! What a difference!

Not only do breadmakers make luscious, soft breads, but they also make cakes, doughs, jam, and yogurt. My breadmaker is such an exciting part of my kitchen, and this is the first recipe I ever perfected for it.

INGREDIENTS

Most breadmakers have a range of 1 lb-2 lb loaves of bread. Mine is a smaller model, that only allows for 1 lb/450g or 1.5 lb/680g. However, I’m going to give you the ingredients for both sizes.

NOTE: Make sure to look VERY CAREFULLY at the instructions, since the ingredients NEED to be added to your breadmaker in a certain order.

450g/1 lb	680g/1.5 lb
¾ cup (180 ml) warm water (Between 100F-115F/38C-46C) 2 tbsp (40 g) honey 2 tsp (8g) sugar 3 tbsp (45 g) butter, melted ¾ tsp (4.5g) salt 3 cups (270 g) all-purpose flour 1½ tsp (4.5g) instant yeast	1 cup (240 ml) warm water (Between 100F-115F/38C-46C) 3 tbsp (60 g) honey 1 tbsp (12g) sugar 4 tbsp (60 g) butter, melted 1 tsp (6g) salt 3 1/2 cups (360 g) all-purpose flour 2 tsp (6g) instant yeast

INSTRUCTIONS

• Sift your all-purpose flour. You can sift it once, but I always sift it twice in order to get more air into the dough and make it fluffier.
• Add your ingredients to the bread maker IN THIS ORDER: Warm water, honey, sugar, butter, salt, flour. Then you’ll want to sprinkle the yeast ON TOP of the flour. (The yeast should NOT touch the salt or liquids directly. It confuses the yeast.)
• Close the lid of your bread maker and choose your size, then choose either light or medium crust. (I prefer light for an extra fluffy texture.)

• Use your basic bread setting. (Mine is called 일반빵 Basic Bread on my model Bread Garden BM2401). This should take around 2.5-3 hours, depending on your machine. Don’t use the quick bread setting!)
• Go play your favorite video game for three hours. Or read a book. Fall in love with someone. Your choice.

• After three hours, pull your bread out and let it cool for a couple of hours. If you cut the bread too soon, the air in the bread won’t settle right, so try and be patient.
• Use your breadmaker hook and pull the mixer out of the bottom of the bread.
• Enjoy with some honey butter or fruit jam.

NOTES & TROUBLESHOOTING

The first time I did this, my bread sank like an old sofa, so let me give you some tips if you’re having trouble with your bread.

If your bread dough collapses, that usually means the dough was either too wet or too dry. (Yes, it’s very picky!)

After your breadmaker mixes the dough together, lift the lid and poke the dough. It should be a bit sticky, but not stay on your finger. (Think tacky, not gooey.) If it’s too dry, add a little bit of water. If it’s too wet, add a little bit of flour.

Too much or too little yeast can also cause your dough to collapse. Make sure the flour/water/yeast ratios are correct, or it will collapse.

Also, make sure the yeast doesn’t touch any liquids or salt. (Yes, yes. It’s quite picky!)

Q: The bread collapsed! T.T Can I still eat it?

Don’t worry, the bread should still be good to eat as long as it’s cooked all the way through and there is no gooey bits inside. If it’s floofy inside, you can still use it for french toast or bread pudding.

Q: Can I use active dry yeast instead of instant yeast?

Yes, but you have to activate the yeast first. Dissolve 1¾ teaspoons of active dry yeast in some warm milk (around 38–40°C) with a pinch of sugar, and let it sit for 5–10 minutes until it’s bubbly. Add this mix to the breadmaker first, then add the honey, melted butter, sugar, flour, and salt, in that order.

Q: Can I skip the sugar since there’s honey already in the recipe?

In short, no. The sugar isn’t there for sweetness alone, it’s also there to interact with the yeast and help it rise better. Honey can do this, but not at the same effectiveness as the sugar. So I don’t recommend skipping the sugar.

Q: What should I do if the bread maker paddle bakes into the bread?

If this is your first time using a breadmaker, note that it’s normal to bake the paddle into the bread. That’s why they give you a little hook to pull out the hook after it bakes.

Q: Can I use bread (strong) flour?

Yes, but it’ll be a tougher chew. I would recommed using half bread flour and half all-purpose instead. But if you want a more rustic chew, then strong flour should be fine! Just make sure the dough has enough liquid during the kneading process.

Q: Can I use cake flour/soft flour?

I wouldn’t recommend it. It’s not strong enough to make this kind of bread.

Q: Can I make this gluten free?

I”ve never tried, but you can use a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend with some xanthan gum. If you have a gluten-free cycle on your breadmaker, use that.

Q: How do I store this bread?

Great question! This bread doesn’t last very long, so you can keep it in a zipper bag on the counter or in the fridge for a few days. It’ll be hard after that, but you can use it to make amazing french toast and bread puddings. For the best sandwich bread, I recommend using it it within 2 days.

If you want to freeze it, slice it first and then put the individual slices in a freezer bag, then put them in the freezer.

What do you like to do with leftover bread? Let me know in the comments!