I’ve encountered most people who are passionate about bread making, and love to knead their own bread, maybe for relaxation or any other reason.
As a mum, I prefer using a bread machine to make bread, since I don’t have to knead the dough myself and my kids love the smell of fresh bread coming from the bread machine. The good thing about making your own bread at home is that you know the ingredients in the bread, and also you can make fresh bread enough for one serving instead of buying it from the store.
I had about two recipes in mind when I started making bread at home, but with some research on the web, I came up with some healthy bread recipes for making bread for your family which I think I should share with you guys. To start us off is my favorite honey whole sandwich bread recipe.
1. Honey Whole Sandwich Bread
My kids love this sandwich bread, the smell alone coming from the bread machine sends them scrambling at the kitchen door. I love this bread because you use honey instead of sugar, which is healthy for you. Honey is beneficial to your health. The recipe is easy to follow.
Ingredients
- Salt- ½ teaspoon
- Honey – ¼ cup
- Olive oil – 2 tablespoons, you can use melted butter as an alternative
- Dry yeast – 2 ¼ tablespoon
- Warm water – 1 ½ cups
Instruction
You should layer all the dry ingredients on the bread pan you may want to refer to your bread machines manual on how you should layer your dry ingredients. The wet ingredients should be placed on top of the dry ingredients, though I prefer bread machines that come with a separate area for placing the yeast. Lastly, press the whole wheat option in the machine, then start. You get 12 slices of a loaf in about 5 hours.
2. A low carbohydrate bread recipe
One step in reducing the overall quantity of carbohydrates in your bread is the elimination of refined sugar. I’ve included soy whole grain flour, which is low in carbohydrates, and some flax seeds in the recipe.
Low carb bread is usually extremely expensive. However, with a high quality bread machine, you can make specialist bread in a breeze.
Ingredients
- Egg – 1
- Butter – 1 tablespoon
- Flax seeds- ½ cup
- Soy flour – ¼ cup
- Wheat flour – ¾ cup
- Yeast – 1 tablespoon
- Water – ½ cup
- Splenda – 2 tablespoons (Splenda is a sugar substitute in this recipe)
Instruction
Press the wheat cycle on your bread machine, and mix all the ingredients in that order. The bread machine will begin the dough mixing. You also have the option of selecting the type of crust you prefer. I usually go for a light brown bread crust. These ingredients will give you a pound of a loaf after 4 ½ hours.
3. Vegan Bread Recipe
Vegans are notorious for following a strict diet devoid of milk, egg, and cheese. They emphasize on raw vegetables and fruits. Here is how you can make vegan bread.
Ingredients
- Water: 1 ¾ cup (The temperature should be about 110 degrees Fahrenheit)
- Salt: 1 ½ tablespoon
- Extra virgin olive oil: 2 tablespoons
- Unbleached flour: 4 cups
- Dry yeast: 2 ¼ teaspoon
Instruction
The instructions are simple, another reason to use a bread machine. Go to your machines setting and select basic white bread course. About the crust, I usually go for a medium crust myself. These ingredients give you 2 pounds of bread. The whole process only takes 3 ½ hours.
4. Oatmeal bread recipe
If your intention is to increase the overall fiber in your diet, then you should add high fiber foods in your ingredients, like oatmeal flour. Follow this link to know more about the benefits of fiber in your diet.
Ingredients
- Warm water: 1 cup
- Canola oil: 2 tablespoons
- Sugar: 2 tablespoons
- Salt: 1 teaspoon
- Oatmeal: 1 cup
- White wheat flour: 2 cups
- Dry yeast: 2 teaspoons
- Lemon juice: 1 teaspoon
Instructions
The ingredients should be added to the bread pan in that order. Go for a basic white course and the crust should be light. The weight of the loaf should be 1 ½ pound. The bread will be ready after 4 hours.
5. Soaked wheat bread
Most of you are wondering why soak the bread? Well, the answer is simple; soaking the flour makes your body recognize the indigestible part of the grains. Follow this link for more information.
Ingredients
- Water: 1 1/3 cups
- Olive oil: 1 teaspoon
- Honey: 3 tablespoons
- Apple cider vinegar: 2 heaping
- Whole wheat flour: 3 cups
- Dry yeast: 1 ¾ teaspoon
- Salt: 1 ½ teaspoon
Instructions
Place the ingredients on your bread pan in that order. This recipe will only work if your bread machine has a delay timer. This delay timer will make it soak the dough overnight. After soaking, press the whole wheat cycle setting on your machine. It will be ready in 3 hours.
6. Whole wheat sandwich bread
Based on my research, flour from whole grains contains more nutrients than refined flour. That’s why I included this recipe.
Ingredients
- Water: 2 tablespoon
- Oil: 2 tablespoon
- Salt: 2 teaspoon
- Brown sugar: 1/3 cup
- Whole wheat flour: 4 cups
- Flax seeds: 2 tablespoon
- Milk: 3 tablespoon
- Yeast: 2 tablespoon
Instructions
The ingredients should be added to the bread machine’s pan in that order. Poke a hole in the middle of the ingredients and add yeast. (The reason for this is that when yeast mixes with salt in the presence of water, salt becomes an enzyme inhibitor during the breakdown of phytates) press the whole wheat setting on your machine and select a dark crust setting. The cook time is only 4 hour while the preparation time is 10 minutes.
7. Quick Pumpkin Whole Wheat Bread
Pumpkin is a nutrient-rich fruit vegetable, and its addition to the whole wheat bread is good for your health. I like the yellowish tinge on the bread, it makes it look good.
Ingredients
- Vegetable oil: 1/3 cup
- Eggs: 3
- Pumpkin puree: 1 ½ cups
- Sugar: 1 cup
- Baking powder: 1 ½ teaspoon
- Baking soda: ½ teaspoon
- Salt: ¼ teaspoon
- Ground cinnamon: ¾ teaspoon
- Ground nutmeg: ¼ teaspoon
- Ground ginger: ¼ teaspoon
- Whole wheat flour: 3 cups
- Chopped pecans or walnuts: ½ cup
Instruction
First, pre-mix the eggs, pumpkin puree, cooking oil and sugar in a bowl. Then spray the bread pan with a little cooking oil. After that stir in the spices, salt, flour and baking soda until they mix in the bread pan. Add the already pre-mixed mixture of pumpkin puree and chopped nuts in the bread pan. Set the machine to a quick bread cycle setting. It only takes around 2-3 hours and the loaf is ready to be served.
Wrapping up with Healthy Bread Machine Recipes
Bread can be served with any dish during breakfast, lunch, as a snack or an appetizer. I found them easy to master but it might take some time to experiment. If you liked any of the super healthy bread machine recipes, feel free to comment or share this article because sharing is caring.
