Ah, Latte, a starter!  I am certain that you can find complete directions on teh web.  Essentially, though, youmix flour & liquid in a bowl that you keepout in the open to catch the ambient yeast.  once it has doubled in size, you can refrigerate it.  To use it, you take out a cup & replace a total cup of flour & liquid, tehn return i to the fridge.  Look for complete directions thouh, befoer you try this.  Yours in Him, Deb

I use my bread make for bread now I have MS and can not knead the bread .. I got a jar of bread making yeast for $ 2.48 a few weeks ago my family just likes bread I have three machines I  use every other day

I absolutely love my bread machine.  I've had it for years-it was a wedding present.  I don't bake the bread in it anymore though because I don't like the shape or texture of the bread as well if it's baked in the machine.  I use the dough cycle and then let the bread rise and then bake it in the oven.  I definitely can make bread cheaper than buying it-and it tastes way better too!  I buy my yeast at Costco-it keeps forever in the fridge-and my flour when on sale.  My favorite recipe right now is wholegrain seeded bread- a really great everyday bread.  I probably make 2-3 loaves of bread a week, usually something fun for the weekend, a seed bread, and something cheesy or herby for during the week.  I have been thinking about making bread by hand but I am not sure it would get done!  The bread machine is so easy; it has become one of my favorite kitchen gadgets.

question for all you experienced bakers...I see a lot of recipes using packages of active yeast but I bought a package of bulk active yeast. How much is one package of active yeast ?  A teaspoon ?  I know I have seen something about it before about the equilevent measurement.

According to my bulk package, one 7 gram package of active yeast is 1/4 ounce and equal to 2 1/4 teaspoons of active yeast. . . hope that helps!

i use instant yeast and thats what my bread machine calls for too, of 1 teaspoon....i dont know the diference in measurments between instant and regular yeast, and my machine is just a 1 pound loaf size, i could see in a few years upgrading to a 2nd one and making 2 loaves at once

You have all inspired me!! I never use my bread machine and I want to start.  like Jennylyn, I never liked the shape or texture although it tasted good.  Can you print the recipes for wholegrain seeded bread and the cheesy bread you make.  I have the other recipes posted in this thread and I am ready to go!!

Country Seed Bread Submitted by: Donna Beth Rated: 5 out of 5 by 50 members Yields: 10 servings "This nutritious wheat bread from your bread machine is packed with sesame, flax and poppy seeds. Toasting enhances the nutty flavor." INGREDIENTS: 3/4 cup water 4 teaspoons honey 4 teaspoons canola oil 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 1/3 cups bread flour 2/3 cup whole wheat flour 3 tablespoons flax seed 4 teaspoons sesame seeds 2 teaspoons poppy seeds 1 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

Hi Patti!

 Above is the recipe for the seed bread I like.  I vary the seeds and I don't toast them prior (mostly because I'm a little lazy)-it still tastes great.  I usually use flax and sunflower seeds plus sesame if I have them.  I use the dough cycle of my machine, then plop it in a loaf pan and let it rise until it is a little higher than the top of the pan sides.  Then bake at 340 for 28 mins (I cover if the crust gets too brown).  I bake almost all breads I do at 340 for somewhere between 25-30 mins but my oven runs hot so 350 might be better in other ovens.

 I have to get the cheesy bread recipe-it's in a cookbook I loaned out last week to a friend!

 As far as the yeast from the previous conversation, I don't know the conversion from quick yeast to regular either BUT I did read that if baking in the bread machine you have to use more active yeast than you would quick or bread machine yeast because you need more to do the same job as the quick yeast.  How much is the question though!  I think that is in my cookbook that I loaned out too (it's a bread machine cookbook).  Baking in the oven though lets you add extra rise time to allow the active yeast to make the bread rise-I've been experimenting with quantitiy a little but it doesn't seem as crucial as when baking in the machine.  Hope that wasn't very confusing!

 Good luck to all in their baking!  PS-the above recipe is obviously from allrecipes.com . . . one of my favorite sites and also great for tons of awesome bread recipes . . . just do a search for bread machine and a whole collection comes up!

Thanks for answering my question! I googled it after and it is spot on!   I usually covered in cats and kids when I sit down lately so limited in my typing.

    Hi Liz ...

       I bought my bread machine for $35 on sale a few years back.  I've gone through phases with it ... made lots of bread, then nothing, LOL!  I've recommited to using it, though, because I bought way too much bread flour a while back, and I have a jar of yeast that's past a year old. (though I also use it for Christmas baking).  Both need to be used up soon.  And since the price of bread (like everything else) is going up, seemed to be a good time to start!

(also discovered that it makes a pretty good pizza dough, too ... so that will be a help)