Category: Breads & Desserts

  • Basic White Bread Recipe for Bread Machine

    Basic White Bread Recipe for Bread Machine

    This basic white bread recipe is one of those recipes that is good to have on hand. I make it in my bread machine, so there is very little work involved. Just add the ingredients, turn on the machine, and forget about it for about three and a half hours!

    I use this bread on its own, but it is also a basic recipe that I use as the starting point for other recipes. Instead of buying bread flour, I use regular all-purpose flour with vital wheat gluten. It costs less, and I have found that it works just as well.

    Breads and Desserts

    Basic White Bread 🍞

    Homemade white bread from the bread machine. Perfect for sandwiches, toast, or thick slices of French toast!

    81012 1416
    Total Loaf Calories
    —
    kcal
    Calories Per Slice
    —
    kcal

    Loaf size: 2 pounds
    Yield: 12 slices
    Serving size: 1 slice

    Ingredients

    • 1½ cups room-temperature water
    • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces
    • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
    • 1½ teaspoons salt
    • 4 cups all-purpose flour
    • ¼ cup nonfat dry milk
    • 1½ teaspoons active dry yeast
    • 4 teaspoons vital wheat gluten

    Instructions

    1. Place all the ingredients into the bread-machine pan in the order listed.
    2. Place the bread pan into the bread maker.
    3. Select the Basic White program.
    4. Select the 2-pound loaf size.
    5. I prefer the medium crust setting.
    6. Start the bread maker and forget about it for about three and a half hours!
    7. When the bread is finished, carefully remove the loaf from the pan.
    8. Place it on a wire rack and allow it to cool completely before slicing.

    Calorie Crusaders Tip: Slice the cooled loaf into approximately equal pieces. Adjust the slider to match the number of slices you cut. Thicker slices have more calories, while thinner slices have fewer.

    Nutrition Information

    Serving size: 1 slice
    Slices per loaf: 12

    Nutrition information is estimated from standard ingredient values. Actual values vary depending on ingredient brands, measurements, and slice thickness. The calculations assume equal-sized slices.

    Carol’s Bread-Making Tip

    Bread flour works perfectly well in this recipe, but I prefer to use all-purpose flour with vital wheat gluten. All-purpose flour is usually cheaper, and adding the vital gluten gives the dough some of the extra gluten strength you would normally get from bread flour. It works very well for me.

    Try it with: This homemade white bread is perfect for our French Onion Soup. A thick slice holds up beautifully under the broth and melted cheese.

    Calorie Crusaders Tip

    Let the loaf cool completely before slicing it. Besides making the bread easier to slice, cooling gives the inside of the loaf time to finish setting. Then you can cut fairly even slices, which also makes it easier to estimate the calories in each serving.

    Nutrition information for homemade recipes is an estimate. Exact values can vary depending on the brands of ingredients used and the number and thickness of slices.

  • Aunt Jemima Cornbread

    Aunt Jemima Cornbread

    I’ve been making this Aunt Jemima cornbread recipe for years and years. The recipe originally came right off the Aunt Jemima cornmeal package, and it was so good that I hung onto it. Sometimes the recipes you find on the back of a package turn out to be the ones you make for a lifetime, and this is one of those recipes at our house.

    It’s a slightly sweet cornbread made with cornmeal, flour, sugar and whole milk. We especially like it alongside a big bowl of Nonnie’s Beef Stew, but it’s good with just about any meal where a warm piece of cornbread belongs.

    Aunt Jemima Cornbread

    Total Batch Calories
    2048
    kcal
    Calories Per Piece
    256
    kcal

    Ingredients

      Yield: 8 pieces

      Directions

      1. Preheat the oven to 425°F.
      2. Grease a round cake pan or use cooking spray. Do not flour the pan.
      3. Combine the cornmeal, flour, sugar (if using), baking powder, and salt.
      4. Add the milk, egg, and shortening. Mix until combined.
      5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
      6. Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until golden and baked through.
      7. Cut into the selected number of standard-size pieces and serve.

      Larger batches may require a larger pan, multiple pans, or additional baking time.

      Estimated Nutrition Information

      Serving size: 1 standard piece
      Servings per batch: 8

      Nutrition information is estimated using standard ingredient values. Actual values may vary depending on brands, measurements, and serving sizes.

      A Calorie Crusader Tip

      Cornbread is one of those foods where deciding on the serving size before you start cutting makes calorie counting much easier. I cut this recipe into eight pieces, so each wedge is one serving.

      And don’t throw away those old favorite recipes just because they came from the back of a package. This one has been in my kitchen for years and years for a reason!

      Calories Crusaders Recipes

      This is a recipe I originally found on an Aunt Jemima cornmeal package many years ago. Aunt Jemima products were later renamed Pearl Milling Company.