Peasant Bread

I received a bread machine for Christmas last year.  There's nothing like warm, freshly baked bread when you know what goes in it.  When I lived back home, we had a tradition competition of getting up and slicing the top off right after it finished baking.  I went on a bread making kick the last few weeks with my very own machine, and we fell in love with the peasant bread recipe.

I usually make one large loaf like pictured above, but I'll post the other size recipes too. I baked this on the sandwich setting and to a light temperature.

*Please place the ingredients in the machine in the listed order*

Large (2-2.5 pound loaf):
1 1/2 cups water
2 tsp. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
3 cups bread flour
1/2 - 3/4 cup ground flax (I never measure, just eyeball whatever amount looks good)
2 tsp. bread machine yeast

Add ingredients to the machine, adjust the settings if necessary, and wait about 2 1/2 - 3 hours for delicious homemade bread.

Medium (1.5 pound loaf):
1 cup water
1 1/4 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 cups bread flour
1/2 cup ground flax
1 1/2 tsp bread machine yeast

Small (1 pound loaf): Halve the ingredients for the large loaf