Tomato and Bacon Bread (For Bread Machine)

I've finally gotten the hang of making bread in the bread machine enough to make my own recipes. I designed this loaf specifically for grilled cheese sandwiches.

• Ready In: 3 hrs 45 mins
• Serves: 10-12
• Yields: 1 1.5 pound loaf

Ingredients

• 1  cup  whole milk, warmed in microwave (take care not to boil!)
• 2  tablespoons olive oil
• 1  egg
• 6  tablespoons tomato paste
• 1⁄4 cup bacon, cooked, well-blotted and chopped fine
• 2  tablespoons sun-dried tomatoes, finely chopped
• 1  lb bread flour (a bit more than 3 cups)
• 1  teaspoon salt
• 2  tablespoons sugar
• 2  teaspoons  dried onion (heaping spoons)
• 2  teaspoons  Italian herb seasoning (heaping spoons)
• 1⁄2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2  teaspoons bread machine yeast (heaping spoons)

Directions

1. Add all ingredients to bread machine pan in order given, unless directed otherwise by your machine's manufacturer. Bake on regular bread setting, light or medium color. For best loft and texture, remove immediately after baking cycle is complete (rather than let it auto-cool in the machine) and cool on wire rack. Makes a tall, 1 1/2 pound loaf.
2. Tips for success:
3. I prefer to measure my flour by weight because it's more accurate and MUCH easier/faster.
4. I've found that if I lie the slices of bacon on top of each other and slice them first into long strips then chop them into bits, it goes a LOT faster than just haphazardly chopping them. You get much more even bits much faster.
5. The single best key to successful bread machine baking is to babysit your doughball is it's forming. Let the machine work until the doughball forms, then let it work five more minutes and have another look at your doughball. Have some extra flour or extra milk handy should you need to adjust the moisture. Your doughball should be just formed enough that the paddle isn't smushing through the bottom of the ball, but not so dry that the ball just spins without touching the walls. (If it's really way too dry, the doughball won't form at all!) The optimal texture is a ball that spins but also smacks the walls of the pan, too. Once you have a firm grasp on what the optimal doughball looks like, and the basic proportions of liquid/flour/salt/sugar/yeast, you're free to wing it with recipes and invent your own.