Mother of All Inventions-The Bread Machine

Over the holidays, my boyfriend's Ome gave me her bread machine. I had no idea what a difference it was going to make in my life. I was always too chicken to attempt making bread before, I have a secret fear of working with yeast, don't ask me why. Since receiving the bread machine my life has forever changed. We haven't bought bread since December and probably never will again. The bread machine is one of the best inventions ever!

I should note that I've never actually baked the bread in the bread machine, I've only used it to make the dough. In my opinion baking the bread is the easy part and that way I can shape the dough the way I like. So far I've made bread and buns (2 times a week, every week,) pizza dough and these sinfully delicious cinnamon buns. These are the best Cinnamon Buns I've ever had. My boyfriend took a batch to work and everyone loved them. I honestly don't know how I lived without a bread machine. I have the utmost respect for people who can make bread without one but for those of us who don't have that confidence, the bread machine is indispensable. Once again, here's another example of how Ome has changed my life.

RECIPE (courtesy of Recipezaar):

1 cup milk
3 TBSP water
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup butter
3 1/3 cups all purpose white flour
3 TBSP granulated sugar
3/4 tsp salt
2 tsp yeast

FILLING
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
3 3/4 tsp cinnamon
2 TBSP softened butter

GLAZE
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla
2-3 tsp milk

Put yeast in bread machine first on bottom, then flour, sugar and salt. Then melt butter in microwave. Add beaten egg, milk and water. Pour onto dry ingredients in bread machine. When dough is done, put it onto a lightly floured surface. Knead in enough flour to make it easy to handle. If it is too elastic, cover and leave 10 minutes. Use floured rolling pin to roll out dough on floured surface. Roll out into rectangular shape to approx 1/4-inch thick. Use filling and spread over entire surface of dough with spoon. Roll up dough. Cut into circle with a sharp knife about 1-inch thick; place these in a greased 9x13-inch pan. Cover with a tea towel and leave in a warm place for approx 30 minutes, until double in size. Bake in a 350° oven for about 25 minutes, light brown on top. When done, make glaze and swirl over buns.