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1
Place yeast in 1 cup of warm water (90 to 110 degrees) and mix thoroughly.
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2
Let yeast sit for 5 to 10 minutes while you load the other ingredients into the bread machine.
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3
In bread machine pan, place all ingredients in the order recommended by the manufacturer.
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4
Add the yeast mixture last, once it is a bit foamy on top.
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5
Select the dough setting if you will bake in the oven, or the basic bread setting if you'll let the bread machine do the rest.
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6
Check dough after 5 minutes of mixing, if needed add more warm water (or flour) 1 tsp at a time until dough is neither too dry nor too wet (make sure to give it time to mix in before you add more).
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7
If you are using the bread machine for the baking, let it do its thing now.
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8
If you are baking in the oven, then continue on-- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
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9
Spray a non-stick bread pan lightly with fat free cooking spray.
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10
When the dough is ready, drop it into the bread pan, and smooth it to the edges of the pan.
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11
Be careful not to punch it down; it should be ready to go now, but if you punch it down much, you'll need to let it rise again (covered with a moist towel).
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12
Bake at 400 degrees F for 45 minutes.
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13
(For a thinner lighter crust, reduce to 325 after 5 minutes and bake for 60 minutes instead)
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14
This will vary depending on your oven, and on your altitude and such, so a good rule of thumb is to thump the bread, and consider it done when it sounds hollow.
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15
About 2 minutes before you pull the bread out for good, pull it out and quickly spray it with some fat free cooking spray (I use butter flavored spray) then put it back in.
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16
WARNING: DO NOT spray the cooking spray on the bread while it is in the oven, since this is a fire hazard Remove the bread from the oven, and let it cool on a cooling rack (the ridged side of a Nathan's grill works well in a pinch), then slice and enjoy.
