Sweet Golden Batter Bread

This is bread machine baking at its most rewarding: minimal effort, maximum payoff.

Load up butter, milk, eggs, vanilla, sugar, bread flour, and yeast. Press start. Walk away. Come back to a golden, fragrant loaf with a tender crumb and a hint of sweetness that makes it just as good slathered with jam as it is torn apart warm and eaten plain.

The generous amount of butter and eggs give it an almost brioche-like richness without the fuss of traditional enriched dough.

Pro Tips

• Add ingredients in the order your bread machine manual recommends (usually liquids first, then dry, yeast on top)
• Use room temperature eggs and milk so the yeast activates evenly
• This bread is best eaten the same day or the next. After that, it makes outstanding French toast

Variations

• Toss in a handful of dried cranberries and chopped pecans for a holiday version
• Replace vanilla with almond extract for a subtle, fragrant twist
• Brush the warm top with melted butter and a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar right out of the machine