I found a great non bread machine recipe for bread that is easy and doesn't take forever... it's good for regular meals, slicing, and even making croutons:
Old Fashioned Brown Bread
2 1/3 cups boiling water
1 cup old fashioned oats
½ cup butter, cubed
1/3 cup molasses
5 ½ to 6 ½ cups all-purpose flour
5 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 teaspoons salt
In a large bowl, pour boiling water over oats. Stir in butter and molasses. Let stand until mixture cools to 120-130, stirring occasionally.
In another bowl, combine 3 ½ cups flour, yeast, and salt. Beat in oak mixture until blended. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.
Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
Punch dough down. Turn onto lightly floured surface; divide in half. Shape into loaves. Place in two greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pans. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.
Bake at 375 for 35=40 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.
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