Introduction: Bacon Bread

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I love this bread, so far everyone that I've made it for has fallen in love with it as well.

Step 1: Ingredients

For a 1.5 pound loaf you will need,

1 Cup water
2 Tablespoons butter (softened)
2/3 Cup cooked bacon (with fat, that was 8 strips of thick cut bacon for me)
2 1/2 Cups white bread flour
1/2 Cup whole wheat flour
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon pepper
3/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast (or 1 1/2 teaspoons fast rise)

other,

measuring spoons, pot holders, bread machine, measuring cups, sifter, bread knife or and electric knife works really well.

Step 2: Bacon

Cook till crisp, crumble, and add fat back to it when measuring. I like to cook my bacon on a George Foreman grill, it doesn't splatter the kitchen in bacon grease, and the fat slides right off, that makes it a little easier to add the fat back in after you crumble it up to measure. I used 8 slices of thick cut bacon.

Step 3: Adding the Ingredients to the Bread Pan.

Check your bread machine's manual, mine says to add the wet ingredients first, but some may say to add dry ingredients first.

Add the water, bacon, and butter to the bread pan. 
Next sift flours together, and add to the bread pan, make three indentions with your thumb or spoon. In one of the corner dents put salt, pepper, basil, and garlic powder. In the other corner goes the sugar. In the middle indention put your yeast.

Step 4: Baking

Place bread pan into the bread machine, then close the lid and choose 1.5 pound loaf setting, then choose the "White Bread" cycle (it is called Basic on my machine), choose crust color, I like light. Press start.

First the machine will mix the ingredients and do some kneading cycles, and sometimes the machine will stop to let the dough rest or rise, baking happens in the last hour. 

The dough will look like a mess at first, then it will form a nice ball, the dough should feel springy to the touch, and not be too sticky or gooey, if it is too wet you can add a tablespoon at a time of flour (use bread flour or all purpose not the wheat!) till it feels right, if the dough is too dry you can add a table spoon of water at a time.

At the end of the first hour the dough has been kneaded and is in a resting stage.

When there is about an hour left the dough has risen nicely and is about ready to start the baking cycle.

Step 5: Slicing, Eating, Storing

When the baking cycle is over, use a pot holder to pull the bread pan out, and set aside to let the bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes. When 10 minutes is up, use hot pads to turn bread pan over and let bread slide out of pan onto hot pad, place on a trivet or cooling rack to cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing at this point you can brush the top with butter and sprinkle some kosher salt onto the top if you like. After 30 minutes passes, place bread into a cutting board, or a bread slicing guide (mine hadn't come in the mail yet, so I didn't get to show it.) 

Choose a long serrated bread knife, or use an electric knife (they are great for slicing bread!) and slice bread, then you can spread butter on the slice, or toast it, make a sandwich, the loaf doesn't usually make it to the next day at my house, but I'm sure it is great for breakfast, sadly, I wouldn't know.

In my experience homemade bread mold pretty quickly when left out at room temperature in a zip lock bag (usually after 3-5 days), I store mine in the fridge and have not had a molding problem yet. I did just get a bread box, to set on the counter, hopefully that works out, we'll see.

Enjoy your yummy Bacon Bread, and try to share!

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