Bread Machines and Baking ;)

Another difference I've found in England is the use of scales in measurements for recipes.  Rather than using measuring cups, recipes will call for a certain weight of a dry ingredient.

So, in my recipe for cornbread, which I made in the bread machine for the first time, I needed to measure out 350 grams of flour and 140 grams of cornmeal.  I'm not sure why there is a difference.  Although, I'm trying to remember that I only really know the way the women in my family cook.  (The men in our family don't really cook, so therefore, I can't know their processes.  If they venture near, it is only to the barbecue or the ice cream churn.  I'm not mocking, merely observing!  We always appreciate the outcome!)  Perhaps other families in the USA do use scales as well.

Regardless of it's done in the oven or the bread machine, the end result is a house that smells like fresh bread and a nice yummy addition to my black bean soup that I'm hoping to make tomorrow.  It was to be dinner for tonight, but I ran into complications.  I remembered that dry black beans should be soaked overnight.  Got that part.  Somehow, I didn't see that they needed to cook for several hours still. Which meant, leftovers tonight and black bean soup tomorrow!