Italian Herb and Parmesan Bread

After years of using my trusty Kenwood BM250 breadmaker, I did the stupidest thing. I let the breadpan sit in a sink filled with just a couple of inches of water. It wasn’t that much water, but it was enough for rust to build around the paddle rotator, and it became stuck. No amount of WD-40 could un-stick it, so I had a few options: 1) Keep up the WD-40 treatment and pray; 2) buy a new breadpan; or 3) buy a new breadmaker.

I chose option 1 at first. Then I had itchy fingers and checked out the Kenwood BM450 on Lazada. Payday Sale was on, and it was on sale at a 20% discount. Needless to say, I caved. I’ll still do Option 1 and figure out what to do with the old breadmaker if I did manage to fix the breadpan.

I love the Kenwood BM450. It is supposed to be better than the basic BM250, and best of all, it is gorgeous. Finally a winning combination of form and function.

I looked at the recipe book which came with the machine, and there were quite a few I’d like to try. This here though is something I found online on Genius Kitchen, which uses ingredients readily available in my pantry. My first loaf using my new machine!

I activated the yeast first because I wasn’t sure if it was still usable. You can skip this step if you like, as it is completely unnecessary for breadmaker recipes and when using instant yeast.

Italian Herb and Parmesan Bread

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups water
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons instant yeast
• 525 grams bread flour
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Direction

In your breadmaker pan, add the water, sugar and yeast. Let sit for 5 minutes.

Add the flour. Be sure to cover the liquid completely.

Add the dried parsley, grated parmesan, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, and basil.

Add the olive oil.

Place the pan into the breadmaker. Using the French bread program for a 1kg loaf at medium crust, start the machine.

Let cool on a cooling rack, and slice to your desired thickness. Enjoy!