I do a lot of bread baking during the colder months. Sometimes I make my homemade bread by hand, sometimes I use my bread machine. The bread machine is one of my favorite appliances because it saves me so much time. For this recipe I use the machine to mix the dough, then take it out and finish it the traditional way. But if you don't have a breadmaker, you can make any bread recipe by hand. It's not difficult, people have been doing it for thousands of years. I will give the directions for doing it by hand after the bread machine directions.
Store bought bread can't compare to home baked bread. Aside from better flavor and the wonderful smell that wafts though the house when bread is baking, when you make it yourself you can control the quality of the bread ingredients.
I adapted this recipe from Electric Bread. I used saffron threads that I ground with a mortar and pestle, but you could easily substitute 1/2 tsp. rosemary, oregano or any other spice you enjoy. It goes well with any kind of soup, I served it with my Lentil soup.
