How to Make Bread With a West Bend Bread Maker

Bread from the bread maker has a rectangular shape.

Over the years, West Bend has made a number of different automatic bread makers. While there are differences between models, such as one that allows you to use different sized bread pans, and instructions may vary between models, the basic bread-making premise is the same. The West Bend bread maker is an electric countertop appliance. It includes a removable bread pan and electronic controls. The appliance has a programmable delay start feature, allowing you to tell the machine when to start making the bread.

Things You'll Need

• 2 2/3 cups bread flour
• 2 tbs. dry milk
• 2 tbs. sugar
• 1 3/4 tsp. salt
• 2 tbs. butter
• 2 tsp. active dry yeast

Instructions

1. Unplug your West Bend bread machine from the electrical outlet.

2. Open the door at the top of the bread maker and lift out the removable bread pan. Look inside the bread pan and make sure the removable knead bar is locked into place at the bottom of the pan.

3. Add ingredients to the pan. If you are using a bread machine recipe, typically add the ingredients in the order given, with the liquids first and the dry ingredients last. For example, for a 1 1/2-lb. loaf of white bread, add 1 cup water (80 F), 2 2/3 cups bread flour, 2 tbs. dry milk, 2 tbs. sugar and 1 3/4 tsp. salt, with 2 tbs. of butter and 2 tsp. active dry yeast added according to the instructions in the next step.

4. Cut the butter into four equal pieces and place each piece in a separate corner inside the bread maker. Make a slight indentation on the middle of the dry ingredients in the center of the pan and add the yeast to the dented center.

5. Place the bread pan back into the bread machine and snap into place. This typically involves carefully setting the bread pan into the machine, so that the pan base secures to the inside bottom of the bread machine. Turn the pan in one direction to lock into place, or unlock to remove, by turning the pan in the opposite direction.

6. Close the bread maker and plug the appliance into the electrical outlet.

7. Select the type of bread you are making, by pressing the button typically marked "Bread Select." Press until it displays your desired setting, which might be Basic, Basic Rapid, Whole Wheat, Whole Wheat Rapid, French or Sweet. If making the above recipe, you would set the bread maker to "Basic."

8. Press the "Bread Color" button and select your desired bread color, such as light, medium or dark. Stop pressing when your desired color choice appears in the display.

9. Push "Start" to start the bread maker. Then press "Lock" to lock the bread machine settings.

10. Press the "Lock" button for three seconds to unlock the bread maker. Do this when the bread is finished baking. The bread machine has a digital clock showing the preparation time; when done, the clock will display zero.

Tips & Warnings

• Instructions may vary, depending on the West Bend model.

• While many recipes call for dried milk and water, it is possible to substitute liquid milk for the dried milk and water.

• You can set the machine to just mix and knead the bread, instead of baking.

References

• Focus Electrics: West Bend