Bread Machine

If you use yoghurt instead of milk it will give your bread a nice tang, slightly sour if that suits your tastebuds. Use a greek or a greek style yoghurt the plain jane variety. I make my own bread but I have an outside brick oven so am not sure if this will work using a bread making machine. You may have to experiment a little with the amount of yoghurt to flour. But generally speaking it usually works out the same as if you used milk or whatnot. I don't use a recipe I just throw in the ingredients untill it looks and feels right.

That is an idea that I will keep on the "back burner", because I'm still working at getting a regular loaf of bread the way that I want. However, I'm curious about the idea of sour bread...is it equivalent to common sour dough bread bought in the store? The only reason for adding milk, in any form that I'm aware of, is to increase the nutritional value of the bread, which of course is important, but I also read where that Greek yogurt has twice the amount of LDL cholesterol over regular yogurt, and currently that is the only thing that my doctor seems too concerned about in my lab tests. Therefore I would have to weigh it in the balance.

Greek Yogurt Vs. Regular Yogurt: Which Is More Healthful? - US News and World Report

I mentioned greek yoghurt as I have used it before with good results for my taste. I make my own yoghurt and the sourness I mentioned is maybe a little less but good nonetheless (it varies batch by batch) Try another plain yoghurt if you're a little wary of the greek type. As for the sourdough bread taste I have no idea as I have never eaten it.

Probably not...at least there is no recipe for it in my book. I made my third loaf of white bread tonight, and it was much, much better than before. I cut down the flour content by 25%, replaced 3 tbs of butter with 4 tbs of peanut oil, and added 1 more tsp of yeast than the recipe called for. The bread now is deliciously moist and soft, despite retaining a course texture. The bread still doesn't rise as much as I thought it should, so I'm going to continue experimenting, til everything is right.

I found a sourdough recipe for bread machines:

Bread Machine Crusty Sourdough Bread Recipe from Betty Crocker

Have no idea of how it compares to other sourdough breads though. Considering the forethought required for it, it may be some time before I try it.

After a lot of trial and error, I've come to the conclusion that those who dislike their bread machines just didn't have the patience to experiment until they got it right. The problem is that most recipes that I've found, including those in the book that came with my machine are wrong. At best, they are good only as a starting point. I've still not gotten a perfect loaf, but I'm closing in on it. To eliminate the crumbliness, add an egg. To help prevent premature staleness, add some kind of extra fat. Use a lot less water than the recipes call for, because the egg and fat provide extra moisture. Even without the extra egg and fat, use less water anyway, otherwise the dough will probably turn out doughy.