Rapid Rise Italian Herb Bread is our favorite breadmaker recipe. Hands down. No comparison. This is our go-to homemade bread recipe. I make it almost weekly for company. Without exception, they and we RAVE over this amazing dinner bread. We love breads especially dinner breads. This one is bursting with flavor. Marjoram, thyme, and basil saturate this wonderful loaf. This is a great bread to serve with any meal. It always comes out perfectly and has a delicious taste.

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We like it with comfort foods like soups and stews, but also with casseroles, meat and potatoes. I have made this delicious bread probably more than any other loaf because it is so easy and so tasty. I’ve also made this loaf dozens of times for families I’ve taken a meal to. It takes 5 minutes to put the ingredients in the breadmaker. It takes less than 3 hours to bake. So if I need to make a quick meal on the spur of the moment, this bread is always on the menu!

This recipe is from the Black and Decker manual that came with our Black and Decker breadmaker. We purchased it back in the 1990s. We finally got rid of that old breadmaker, but I’ve kept all the recipes. The original Black ‘N Decker’s model took only 2 hours on the rapid rise setting. My current breadmaker takes close to three hours.

It’s great if you want to have a nice home baked loaf of bread in a very short period of time. (By the way, I can’t find any of their recipes on their website, though a few people who have their breadmakers have posted some of the recipes on line). I’ve made it with Crisco shortening (from the original recipe). I’ve also substituted olive oil with great results. It is also good with two teaspoons each of dried basil, marjoram and thyme. Sometimes I try that, rather than the 1 1/2 teaspoons suggested in the original recipe. It is just mouthwateringly good. Especially when it’s hot out of the breadmaker and slathered with butter. Yum.

If you’re looking for a fantastic breadmaker bread recipe, consider giving this recipe a try. This bread is not one you will soon forget. This bread has no preservatives in the batter. So make sure you only leave this bread out on your counter or in your bread box for no more than two days. After that you will need to refrigerate the bread so it doesn’t grow mold.

I initially posted this recipe about a week and a half after I began my blog. The pictures were of poor quality so I remade the recipe in February 2013. But even those pictures were inferior, so I decided to remake this recipe again (January 2015). I made it for a family in our Sunday school class where the wife recently had surgery. I reshot the pictures, too, so you can have a better appreciation of this tasty bread recipe.

Rapid Rise Italian Herb Bread is a marvelous breadmaker bread.

We like this bread served with butter and jam.

I love the fact that this bread takes only two to three hours to bake!

Here’s what I did.

I used these ingredients. You can also use olive oil instead of Crisco.

Measure out hot water and pour into breadmaker loaf pan. Add dry milk powder and Crisco shortening. I have also used olive oil and canola oil and gotten good results. Add sugar and salt.

I always use bread flour when making yeast breads — either in the breadmaker or by kneading myself. Mom said it had more gluten which helped all the ingredients to adhere better and not make the bread all crumbly. Even though Black and Decker suggests using all purpose flour, I ALWAYS use bread flour. 

Add bread flour, basil, thyme,  marjoram, bread machine yeast. My breadmaker rapid rise option bakes this bread in 1 hour 58 minutes.

After removing the bread from the breadmaker pan, butter the top and sides of the bread. This prevents the bread from getting too hard and crusty on the outside.

Slice down the bread. An electric knife works wonderfully. Mom always liked to toast homemade bread already buttered in the oven. She would broil it about 5 minutes in the oven, and then we would eat it spread with jam. So tasty.

Rapid Rise Italian Herb Bread is so tasty. You can see the wonderful, soft texture of this bread. Flecks of basil, marjoram and thyme enhance the delectable taste of this bread. 

We love to eat this tasty bread with salads, soups, or main course meals.

Here’s the recipe.

RAPID RISE ITALIAN HERB BREAD

(Recipe from our Black & Decker Breadmaker)

Rapid Rise Italian Herb Bread

Teresa Ambra

Rapid Rise Italian Herb Bread is one of our favorite breadmaker breads. It only takes two hours to bake one of the best tasting homemade loaves you've ever consumed. This one uses basil, marjoram and thyme which give the bread a splendid taste. Terrific for company or holidays like Easter, Mother's Day or Father's Day but it's enjoyable for everyday meals too.

No ratings yet

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 2 hours hrs

Total Time 2 hours hrs 5 minutes mins

Course Breads, Rolls and Muffins, Breakfast

Cuisine Italian

Servings 20

Calories 127 kcal

Equipment

• 1 breadmaker
• measuring cups
• measuring spoons
• 1 pastry brush to brush bread with melted butter after baking
• 1 electric knife preferred, or sharp bread knife to slice bread

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 1/2 cups hot water
• 3 tbsp. powdered milk
• 2 tbsp. Crisco shortening or olive oil
• 3 tbsp. granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 4 cups bread flour NOT all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. dried marjoram
• 1 1/2 tsp. dried basil
• 1 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
• 2 tsp. Fleishmann's bread machine yeast

Instructions

 

• Measure ingredients in the order listed into bread-maker baking pan.
• (You will need one the size for a 2-lb. loaf).
• Ours bakes for 1 hour 58 minutes at the Rapid Rise setting.
• Allow bread to rest 15 minutes before removing from bread canister.
• Brush top and sides with melted butter to prevent crusts hardening.
• Cool 15 minutes longer before slicing down.
• Yield: 20 half slices.

Notes

NOTE: Since this bread has no preservatives you will need to refrigerate the bread after two days to prevent mold.

 

NOTE: all-purpose flour does not contain the necessary gluten to bond the ingredients together as well as bread flour. The bread may turn out crumbly. For best results use bread flour.

 

NOTE: I recommend using Fleischmann's yeast or bread machine yeast in any yeast bread recipe. Red Star yeast just doesn't work as well.

 

Recipe adapted from Black and Decker.

 

^© Can’t Stay Out of the Kitchen

Nutrition

Calories: 127kcalCarbohydrates: 22gProtein: 4gFat: 3gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 2mgSodium: 154mgPotassium: 78mgFiber: 1gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 68IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 47mgIron: 1mg

Keyword bread, breakfast, brunch

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

We love this marvelous Rapid Rise Italian Herb Bread served with butter and jam.

Serve Rapid Rise Italian Herb Bread with chili or stew. Oh, my!

We have made Rapid Rise Italian Herb Bread hundreds of times! I serve it almost weekly to company!

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Rapid Rise Italian Herb Bread

Teresa Ambra

Rapid Rise Italian Herb Bread is one of our favorite breadmaker breads. It only takes two hours to bake one of the best tasting homemade loaves you've ever consumed. This one uses basil, marjoram and thyme which give the bread a splendid taste. Terrific for company or holidays like Easter, Mother's Day or Father's Day but it's enjoyable for everyday meals too.

No ratings yet

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 2 hours hrs

Total Time 2 hours hrs 5 minutes mins

Course Breads, Rolls and Muffins, Breakfast

Cuisine Italian

Servings 20

Calories 127 kcal

Equipment

• 1 breadmaker
• measuring cups
• measuring spoons
• 1 pastry brush to brush bread with melted butter after baking
• 1 electric knife preferred, or sharp bread knife to slice bread

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 1/2 cups hot water
• 3 tbsp. powdered milk
• 2 tbsp. Crisco shortening or olive oil
• 3 tbsp. granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 4 cups bread flour NOT all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. dried marjoram
• 1 1/2 tsp. dried basil
• 1 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
• 2 tsp. Fleishmann’s bread machine yeast

Instructions

 

• Measure ingredients in the order listed into bread-maker baking pan.
• (You will need one the size for a 2-lb. loaf).
• Ours bakes for 1 hour 58 minutes at the Rapid Rise setting.
• Allow bread to rest 15 minutes before removing from bread canister.
• Brush top and sides with melted butter to prevent crusts hardening.
• Cool 15 minutes longer before slicing down.
• Yield: 20 half slices.

Notes

NOTE: Since this bread has no preservatives you will need to refrigerate the bread after two days to prevent mold.

 

NOTE: all-purpose flour does not contain the necessary gluten to bond the ingredients together as well as bread flour. The bread may turn out crumbly. For best results use bread flour.

 

NOTE: I recommend using Fleischmann’s yeast or bread machine yeast in any yeast bread recipe. Red Star yeast just doesn’t work as well.

 

Recipe adapted from Black and Decker.

 

^© Can’t Stay Out of the Kitchen

Nutrition

Calories: 127kcalCarbohydrates: 22gProtein: 4gFat: 3gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 2mgSodium: 154mgPotassium: 78mgFiber: 1gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 68IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 47mgIron: 1mg

Keyword bread, breakfast, brunch

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!