In 2019, around the holidays, I got a message from my aunt asking if I wanted her old bread machine. My aunt had originally been planning to give it away but thankfully asked me if I wanted it before she did so. Since then, a lot has changed both in my personal life and the outside world, but one thing has remained constant – making bread.

Way back in what feels like another life, I tried my hand at making bread. I attempted to make a few various loaves and baguettes. While the bread was delicious, I didn’t think it was worth the effort. That is where the bread machine enters the scene: they make fantastic bread and it takes less than 5 minutes to prepare. The only drawback is that they can often take up a good amount of kitchen space. We leave ours in our storage room attached to the kitchen and only bring it out on nights when we are making bread (which is about 2-3 times a week).

Recently, the loaf pan of our beloved bread machine began to leak water where the paddle attached to the motor. After a quick Google search I realized that buying a new pan would be near impossible. So I resigned myself to buying a new bread machine. I looked up the best bread machines on The Wirecutter and was floored by their high price tags. So, I turned to Reddit to see what the bread machine subreddit had to say about which models are best. What they had to say was clear: expensive bread machines are not worth it. 

A bread machine is unfortunately the type of thing many people buy and then end up using infrequently. As a result, there are tons of options on the second hand market. I went onto Kijiji (Canadian site to buy & sell stuff) and found a nice stainless steel model for $40, much more reasonable than the 500$ ones I was looking at before. So, if you think you would maybe like to take the plunge into making your own bread, take a look at second hand options. It will cost you nearly nothing, and you can wake up to the amazing smell of fresh bread. 

Now, a little bit about the recipe. I love whole wheat bread. I find that its nutty taste and more complex flavour is superior to white bread. So naturally, this is a 100% whole wheat loaf. Vital wheat gluten is added in to help the whole wheat dough rise. It is jam packed with nuts and seeds to add more texture and flavour. I use a scale to weigh out most ingredients to be more precise, I simply weigh them in the bread pan as I add them. I hope you indulge in the pleasure of waking up to this wonderful breakfast. 

Active time: 10 minutes

Cook time: Varies

Ingredients:

• 20g olive oil
• 50g honey
• 220g room temperature water*
• 320g whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp vital wheat gluten
• 1 ¼ tsp salt
• 1 ½ tsp instant / bread machine yeast
• 1 tbsp ground flax seed
• 1 tbsp chia seeds
• 2 tbsp pumpkin seeds
• 2 tbsp sunflower seeds

Directions:

1. Add all ingredients into the bread machine loaf pan in the order listed above. The yeast should not come in contact with the water or salt. 
2. Set your bread machine to the whole wheat setting and adjust the timer if you are making it overnight. 
3. Cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes before enjoying fresh!

*Note: Different bread machines will require tinkering of the recipe. The two ingredients which most often need to be tinkered with are water and yeast levels. If your bread did not rise as much as you would like, try a bit more water or yeast. If the bread looks like it caved in at the top, then try reducing the water / yeast. Tinker until you perfect the recipe for your bread machine!