Garlic & Herb Bread

I think bread machines are possibly one of the best inventions ever. Dump all of the ingredients in, push a few buttons, and a few hours later you have bread. Easy and simple!

A friend found my bread machine for me at an auction for a whopping DOLLAR. The downside was that it didn't have an appliance manual (or recipes) with it, and I haven't had any luck finding that online. So instead, my friend gave me her bread machine recipes and I've slightly tweaked them, after some fun experimenting.

This was a first-time recipe last night, and with good results!

Garlic & Herb Bread
(Makes 1 Large Loaf -- 1 1/2 pounds)*

Add ingredients to bread machine in the following order:
1 1/4 cups water
1 tablespoon butter, softened
2 cloves garlic, crushed
3 1/4 cups bread flour (I used white)
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/4 teaspoon dried basil leaves or Italian seasoning
2 3/4 teaspoons regular active dry yeast

*I let my machine mix it up and set for a few minutes, then I pulled it out of the machine and split the dough into two loaves. I use my 9x5x3 pans. I let it rise for about an hour, then baked it for 25 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

We ate it warm, topped with brisket and cheese. So good! The bread was light and fluffy.

I think tonight we're going to have the rest of it as cheesy garlic bread, served with poor-man's crab cakes (with fresh zucchini from the garden) and a salad.