The current fad is to go gluten free. Not me, I love gluten.

Beer, bread, cookies? Yes, please.
<a title="Loaf of bread by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/12510610833/"><img alt="Loaf of bread" src="https://ycpi-farm8.staticflickr.com/7309/12510610833_016dd2ab23_z.jpg" width="100%" /></a>
My dAd bought me a bread maker at a yardsale this summer. Well, he bought one and my MoM wanted it so he gave her the first one and then he found a second one for me. Apparently, everyone is selling bread machines at yardsales. My dAd swears he sees them everywhere.
<a title="Slice of bread by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/12510540123/"><img alt="Slice of bread" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3676/12510540123_d01114eee4_z.jpg" width="100%" /></a>
Here's the thing, I didn't know that I wanted a bread machine until I had one.

My bread machine is stupidly easy to use. It didn't come with instructions because it's second-hand (but I prefer to think of it as new-to-me!) and still I've never had a problem with it. I found a basic recipe on the internet and I've made a loaf of bread weekly since then.
<a title="Loaf of bread by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/12510946674/"><img alt="Loaf of bread" src="https://ycpi-farm4.staticflickr.com/3777/12510946674_ba1db06d14_z.jpg" width="100%" /></a>
It's easy I tell you. So easy. And it tastes so good.

I started with<a title="Recipe for bread " href="http://allrecipes.com/recipe/best-bread-machine-bread/" target="_blank"> this recipe </a>and made it my own. The thing that I love is that you mix the water and yeast together first which is pretty nonstandard in bread machine recipes but it works great for a quick-bake loaf.
<a title="Loaf of bread by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/12510929764/"><img alt="Loaf of bread" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3823/12510929764_ac9283ffde_z.jpg" width="100%" /></a>
Here's my take on the recipe:
<ul>
	<li>1 cup of warm water</li>
	<li>2 1/4 teaspoons yeast</li>
	<li>2 tablespoons white sugar (but I've also done 1 tablespoon white and 1 tablespoon brown sugar and I liked this too)</li>
	<li>1/4 cup vegetable oil</li>
	<li>3 cups flour (2 cups white and 1 cup wheat)</li>
	<li>1 1/4 teaspoon salt</li>
</ul>
I put the water and yeast together in the bread machine pan and let them sit for a couple of minutes before adding the sugar and letting the whole thing stand for 5-10 minutes. Then I add the remaining ingredients in the order listed above.  I run the bread machine on one of the quick-bake cycles. Mine is a 80 minute cycle.
<a title="Loaf of bread sliced by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/12510903934/"><img alt="Loaf of bread sliced" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3746/12510903934_9f22da1ccc_z.jpg" width="100%" /></a>
The thing that I can't get over is that the prep-work takes less than 15 minutes and the homemade loaf of bread costs way less than $2. This begs the question: why would I ever buy a $4+ loaf at the store?