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Baking Bread The simplest way to learn how to bake bread is to follow a basic recipe. The following recipe is easy and the bread is delicious. Before you begin make sure you have the following measuring equipment: - Liquid measuring cup - Dry measuring cups - Measuring spoons You will need the following ingredients: - Water - Butter/Margarine - Salt - Bread flour (be sure to buy bread flour, preferably for bread makers) - Dry milk - Sugar - Active, fast rising yeast Measuring ingredients The most important secret of making bread is exact measurements, that's the key to successfully baking bread. With wet ingredients, use ONLY measuring cups with the cups/ounces marked clearly on the side. After filling the measuring cup, place it on a flat surface and view it at eye level to make sure the amount of liquid is exact. Then, double check. With dry ingredients, always "level off" the measurement with the back of a knife or a spatula to make sure the measurement is exact. Another helpful tip is to never use the cup to scoop the ingredients (for example, flour). By scooping, you could add up to one tablespoon of extra ingredients. Fill the measuring cup with a spoon before leveling off. Order of adding ingredients The SECOND most important secret of making bread is putting the ingredients into the breadmaker in the EXACT order given in the recipe. This means: - FIRST, liquid ingredients - SECOND, dry ingredients - LAST, yeast Also, make sure ALL ingredients are at room temperature, (between 77°-85° F) unless otherwise noted in the recipe. Note: Temperatures too cool or too hot can affect the way the bread rises and bakes. It's a good idea to start with all new, fresh ingredients (especially fresh flour and yeast). Now, let's try a simple (but really good) recipe. www.oster.com 5