Herb Breads from Your Bread Maker Machine

Dill Bread Recipe:

(Makes a 1.5 pound loaf)

This is a great bread to have with a hearty meal from pastas with sauce to meats and poultry. You can use either fresh dill or dried dill. If using fresh dill, strip the leaves from the stems and chop it finely. You can also add other ingredients. I added some dried onions to this recipe. What’s wonderful about dill bread is that it will fill the kitchen with the fresh, fragrance of dill while it’s rising and baking.

Other surprising variations include the addition of chopped dill pickles, which makes a great hot dog or hamburger bun. For that variation select the dough course and shape into the bun shape you want and let rise on an oiled baking sheet. Bake at 375° F. /XXX° C. for 20 minutes or until browned. We’re going to keep it simple for now and go with the basic dill and onion recipe in the bread machine.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 eggs
• + 1 cup and 1 tablespoon of water at 110°F./ 43° C.
• 2 tablespoons of oil or melted butter
• 2 tablespoons of sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoons of salt
• 3 cups of bread flour
• 1 tablespoon of dill weed (fresh or dried)
• 1 tablespoon of dehydrated onions
• 2 teaspoons of bread machine yeast

DIRECTIONS:

Put all of the ingredients in the bread pan in the order indicated in the INGREDIENTS and select the basic or white bread setting, 1.5 loaf, medium crust. When the bread is done, remove from the bread pan and let it rest on a cooling rack for 10 minutes. Slice and serve.

Sweet Mint Bread Recipe:

(Makes a 1.5 pound loaf)

If you have mint growing anywhere in your yard or garden you probably have too much of it. Mint spreads faster than most weeds. But it is a wonderfully aromatic herb and comes in varieties ranging from spearmint to peppermint. Fresh mint has the most flavor, but dried mint delivers the mint flavor notes for as much as you would need for this bread recipe.

We’re also going to add a variable and that’s maple syrup. Mint seems to go well with sweet things so let’s make a bread that has the sweetness of maple syrup and the flavor accent of mint.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup of water at 110°F./ 43° C.
• ¼ cup of oil or melted butter
• ¼ cup of maple syrup
• 1 ½ teaspoons of salt
• 3 cups of bread flour
• 1 cup of dry oatmeal
• 1 tablespoon of mint (chopped fresh or dried)
• 2 teaspoons of bread machine yeast

DIRECTIONS:

Place the ingredients in the bread pan in the order indicated in the INGREDIENTS section and select basic or white course, 1.5 loaf and medium crust. When done remove from bread pan and cool on a rack for 10 minutes. Slice and serve. This bread is great with salty or savory dishes as a complement to lamb, veal, pork or beef and can also be enjoyed as a dessert or thinly sliced for tea-time.

Fresh Basil Bread Recipe:

(Makes a 2 pound loaf)

Let’s have some fun. It’s easy to make a basic bread and add basil and that’s okay. Fresh basil is a wonderful herb and I’m sorry to say that its dried version is a disappointment. If it’s winter and fresh basil is not available, fear not. Just add more dried basil and we’ll tell you how much. But there’s another possibility:

I’ve added some chopped tomatoes and mozzarella cheese to this bread recipe with either fresh or dried basil and it has the flavor profile of a pizza Margherita or a classic New York style pizza. For the record, this is not about making a pizza dough but a traditional white bread loaf with all of the ingredients.

You can go the simpler route and just add dried basil or fresh basil as indicated, but we’ll give you some additions in the INGREDIENTS list you might want to consider as an experiment.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup of water 80° F./ 27° C.
• 3 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 cup of chopped, canned tomatoes drained
• ¼ cup of shredded mozzarella cheese
• 2 ½ tablespoons of sugar
• 1 ¾ teaspoons of salt
• 4 cups of bread flour
• 4 teaspoons of shredded fresh basil or dried basil
• 2 ¼ teaspoons of bread machine yeast

DIRECTIONS:

Put the ingredients into the bread pan as indicated in the INGREDIENTS list and select the basic or white course, 2 pound loaf, medium crust. When the loaf is done remove it from the bread pan and let it rest on a cooling rack for 10 minutes. Slice and serve. Great to eat on it’s own and wonderful with a pasta course or with a large green salad.