Rediscovering my Bread Machine

A gift of a loaf of oatmeal bread from my daughter's future in-laws got me started. I pulled the bread machine from the back of my counter and have since made two loaves of oatmeal bread (with raisins). Now it is busily whirring away with a loaf of onion dill. It is so fascinating to watch. First a few gentle whirs and then, when it really gets going, it almost seems ready to jump off the counter. No wonder my homemade bread was always too heavy. I obviously never kneaded it enough. I did have a reason to quit using it. The cord melted a little and Jaime's former boyfriend "fixed" it for me. The oddest repair I have ever seen. I admit that I have never investigated replacing the cord with a new one. It seems to work, but I worry about it. I remember when I got this bread machine. It was a Christmas gift from my little daughter many years ago. She could hardly carry it from the store in the mall. Thank you, Jaime. Anyway, I am enjoying it again. The recipe in my bread machine cookbook for Onion Dill Bread did not include the traditional cottage cheese, but I added 1/2 cup anyway. We'll see how it comes out. P.S. Onion Dill came out doughy. Probably not smart to mess around with bread recipes. I think I will stick with the oatmeal bread for now. I'm also planning to make dough for cinnamon rolls and cloverleaf rolls.

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Bread Machine Oatmeal Bread

1 cup water

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon butter or margarine, softened

2 cups bread flour (I used all purpose flour)

1/2 cup quick cooking oats

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons dry active yeast

Add ingredients in the order given. This makes one loaf. I added extra honey and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. If you are adding raisins, set a separate timer for 15 minutes and add 1/2 cup at that time. This bread makes great crunchy toast with butter or cream cheese.