This post appears in the Personal Touches in the Kitchen challenge.

A few months ago, when I was browsing the yard sales in my neighborhood, I made an awesome find, a bread machine! I had been looking for one for a few years. It’s one of those things I wanted to add to my kitchen appliance collection, but necessarily didn’t want to pay full price for, because I knew I wouldn’t be using it that much.

Well, I was wrong, I’ve been using that little bread maker every week. There’s just something special about freshly made bread. The aroma it fills your house with , the taste and the texture is just so superior to anything you buy in the supermarket.

Of my favorite recipes to make, a simple white loaf of bread is the best. There’s such beauty in the simplicity of white bread. It reminds me of one of my favorite restaurants in Tennessee. Now this isn’t the cleanest or prettiest place you’ve ever seen. In fact, most people would pass it right by, and if they dared to walk in, would turn around and walk out when they took one look at the interior of the restaurant. But if they paused for a second, and breathed in the gorgeous aroma of freshly baked homemade bread, they couldn’t help but stay a while.

This little restaurant keeps it simple. They’re only open for lunch and dinner, and the homemade white bread can be ordered as toast for breakfast, or with any of the basic sandwiches they have on the menu for lunch. My absolute favorite is a cheeseburger on the homemade toasted white bread. It’s the best! I love it so much, I started making my own hamburgers and even hotdogs at home with homemade white bread too.

I love how this little locally owned restaurant has added a simple little special touch of homemade bread to make their place really stand out from the rest. Now I know you can technically get fresh baked bread at some of these chain restaurants, but it’s not the same as real homemade bread. I don’t know what kind of preservatives they add to it, but it’s just not good. In fact, very few restaurants anymore use homemade fresh baked bread that’s not loaded with preservatives. Real homemade freshly baked bread, like this restaurant makes, is such a wonderful touch that keeps it’s customers coming back time and time again. It’s something that a restaurant of any size, and one that has any type of budget can do.

Easy Basic White Bread (Bread Machine)

Yield: 1 - 2lb loaf

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 1/2 cups water
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 4 cups bread flour
• 2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

DIRECTIONS:

Add wet ingredients to bread machine, and then add dry ingredients on top, except yeast. Sprinkle yeast on top of flour as last ingredient.

Turn bread machine on and select basic 2 lb loaf and start.

After bread is done, let cool completely before slicing.

Want to meet purveyors who are making a difference with their customers? Check out BonAppetit.com’s “Out of the Kitchen”, an ongoing exploration of the relationships that build and sustain the food industry. See how hyper-local food markets operate and how their focus on quality and service keep customers coming back for more.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Epicurious. The opinions and text are all mine.

Read the original on: Eclectic Recipes