Bread machines
 

Have recently acquired a nearly new bread machine at a thrift store. Of course no users manual with it but I have been searching on line as to recipes and tips but would like you folks to share your thoughts, good and not so good, about your experiences and recipes with a bread machine. Thank you.

I had one for 25 years, bought in the 80's. When it finally died I did a lot of review research and replaced it with one from Sears with good reviews thinking the technology would have advanced. No. Still works best for raising the dough, still bakes better using the oven.

when I remember to get it started the day before I like to add poolish or biga fermenter to my dough. Not quite a sourdough starter, but adds nice texture and bready flavor. I have three bread recipe books I've used a lot, particularly the european style breads, so many many options beside plain white bread! That was pre-computer.

Good fresh yeast is a key component. I get mine from Bob's Red Mill. Not a fan of 100% whole grain breads, too heavy for my taste, but if following my all purpose recipe (the one on the side of Bob's Red Mill bread flour) I will substitute 1 cup of white flour for a cup of spelt flour etc.

I have little loaf pans, big ones, glass and metal, a clay one, a big tile for flat baking...it can really become a fun hobby, or just a easy put it in let it bake, no preservatives added part of home.

Keep us posted.

a lot of appliances don't even come with paper manuals anymore, check the makers site, there may be one you can download.

edited to add: when I use a recipe I always make pencil notes on the side for flour substitutions and outcome.

I had one back in the late 90's. It wasn't long before I discovered it was something that just took up space. I did not use it often enough to make it even pay for itself. The bread it made was good but I felt I had better control in my oven.

I use mine every week. I don't bake bread in it though. I make a double batch and let the machine do the mixing and kneading. It does a much better job then I could. I take out the dough to let it rise, shape, and rise again then bake in oven. I most of the bread we eat. I have a very old Toastmaster and it's still working fine.

I have had 3 bread machine in the last 40 years and use it regularly I make 100% whole wheat bread and I love it and other. My current machine is by far the best Hamilton Beach. I had a DAK and some other well known brand.


I keep my bread in the fridge because there are no preservative. It will spoil on the counter....
Mine bakes beautifully so no need not put in oven...

Some of the recipes that came with it were not accurate and some on their web site were not accurate, But I figured it out.

Most have problems in higher altitudes. Try making small loaves at first.

Good luck and keep us posted with your results!!:shock:

I've had a bread machine for years, but only use it occasionally in the fall and winter months. We absolutely love hot, fresh, homemade bread. My family always begs for knot rolls at Thanksgiving.

Tips: follow the recipe to the letter, use fresh yeast and fresh flour, make sure the beater bar is pushed all the way down, and don't raise the lid to check on it.

this is why I got one originally, I do not like kneading! :)

I don't want to spend my time mixing and kneading. I go over the enjoyment of kneading pretty fast when I did it every week. I love homemade bread. Here is the recipe I use for crusty French bread loaves.

3 cups non bleached all purpose flour
1 1/8 cup water
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 teaspsoons or one package of yeast

Add more water or flour as needed for dough to form ball.

I roll the risen dough in two long loaves, let rise in long steam pans and then bake 400 degrees for 30 min, uncover and bake about ten minutes or until bread is golden brown. The bread will sing as it cools!

I use Baporoma Steam Baking Master pans. They are hard to find now but use to be very popular bread baking pans.

After reading this thread, I researched bread machines and bought one! We will see. I was out of bread this a.m. as the rest of the loaf had white mold on it. As long as I don't use Azod, which is a dough conditioner, I will be able to eat it. King Arthur flour doesn't have that in it.

I knew an elderly man who used his bread machine every single day & gave all the bread away. When he passed, he was using his 17th machine. He bought yeast in bulk & ordered his flour in 50# bags from North Dakota. He’d call people & ask them to stop by for a loaf of bread.

I have a Black and Decker and make bread quite often...I just stopped and put on a batch! Recipe:

In this order put in mixing pan

1 large egg
1/4 c water (can measure in glass measure with milk)
3/4 c milk
3/4 t salt
3 c bread flour (King Arthur works well but have also used Winona flour I can get in 50# bags from Amish store)
2 T butter
2 T sugar
1 t yeast (Red Star dry yeast is what I use...buy in the big foil packet, put some in a pint jar and refrigerate. Freeze the rest until I need it.)

Takes 3 hr 50 min cycle. If I want raisin bread, at the 3:15 mark, machine beeps and I add 1/2 - 2/3 c raisins and 1/2 c walnuts. When raisins are soft, they get blended in. Didn't find this out until I used up some older harder raisins (LOL) We will have fresh raisin bread for breakfast! Now I'm salivating waiting for warm bread on this chilly wet fall day in NE Iowa! I also have access to farm fresh eggs and milk (unpastuerized).

I have had fails...yeast gone bad mostly. One really needs to use bread flour. It has a higher protein content and really think King Arthur is best.

Our daily bread...lovely story.

When our NC Grands were visiting for a week this summer, the 8 yo and I had a daily ritual of making bread. He and his siblings love G'ma Cow's fresh bread.

I do not have space for a single use appliance in my kitchen. However I have a Kitchen Aid stand mixer and it is great for mixing and kneading dough. We use it weekly to make Pizza dough. My son has the dough recipes down to a science now.

Yes, the mixer take sup lots of space, but I can use it for bread, cookies, cakes, whipping cream or egg whites. I have pasta rollers, meat grinder and other attachments for it. It gets used at least twice a week.

My step Mum used to use a bread maker as she could not longer manage kneading the dough. She baked in her machine too. It sits unused for 5 years now. Maybe one day I will try it out at the cottage, but I would not bring it home.

My grandmother taught me to bake bread using a Cash and Mason bowl, a wooden spoon and everything was measured by feel. I learnt to test the temp of the water on my wrist, to get a feel for how much flour to add, when stirring or kneading the dough. Her best bread had oatmeal and molasses in it. I loved that bread, toasted, then with sharp cheddar broiled on top. Yum a childhood treat.

Actually the best treat was the heel of the bread as soon as it was cool enough to slice, slathered with butter.

I have used a Zo bread machine for as long as I can remember. Over 25 yrs)I have baked the loaves off in the machine but probably more often have done the final shaping & rise for the regular oven. King Arthur flour is an outsdtanding resource for recipes & most ingredients. Amish stores & bulk grocery stores as well as restaurant supply stores are also good . There are many bread baking forums & groups with wonderful recipes for almost any type of bread you might want. Check out 2 books- Bread Machine Magic & More Bread Machine Magic both by Lois Rehberg & Lois Conway. P Back through Barnes & Noble. Outstanding for the beginner as well as experienced bread baker
Let us know how you make out
sewverybusy1

I'm enjoying reading this thread. I am on my second bread machine and use it more in winter than in summer. h I have tried many of the recipes that came with it, but some have not turned out that well. I need to watch carefully during the initial kneading stage to make sure that there is enough flour or enough liquid to make it form a nice ball. I also try to catch it after the first rise so that I can shape, rise, and bake it in the oven. I'm not a fan of the little hole the paddle makes and the squarish shaped loaves. So it's a lot more work than simply "fill, turn on, voila." I also add some gluten (1-2 T.) to whole grain flour to make the bread a little lighter. Will give your recipe a try, oksewglad! Thanks!

I use a lot of yeast. I buy it at Sam's Club in the bulk packages. I freeze it and use it right out of the freezer. I am using yeast that I found in the freezer for over two years and it is still good. Did you know the more you bake yeast bread the more good spores will be in the air making homemade starter thrive. I keep a starter of sourdough going, this last batch is over three years old, survived two house moves. My grandmother told me her grandmother would soak a piece of muslin in starter and let dry. Then she would revive if she lost her starter or give it to those that needed a starter. You can buy starter now that is good.

I did a lot of researching on You Tube about bread making before I found a recipe that I use now. It's not in a bread machine, but by hand. It's Grandma and Grandpa Griffith's (I believe that's it) on You Tube. I also like the Easy Peazy Amish bread recipe, but it's a little too sweet for me, might try to cut the sugar down. I love the process of kneading the dough and watching it rise and the smell is soooooo awesome. I just thawed out my last loaf so almost time to make again. I also double wrap my loaves in plastic wrap before I put them in bags to freeze; seems to stay fresher when unthawed.

I have a Zojirushi bread machine and absolutely love it. It is pricey but the results make it worth it. It is totally programmable to be able to adjust to your own favorite recipes. The built in settings result in beautiful loaves of bread. They have a great website and have other Zojirushi products also. Worth looking into. In all - love my Zo.

So at what stage do you freeze your dough? How long can you keep it frozen?

Good to know as I've been looking for a different one before the one I have dies. Thanks for the info.

For me, the best thing about the bread maker is that DH was able to master it rather quickly!

I'm another big fan of the Zo machines. I have one and we are on our second pan and paddle set (at least you can get them). DH makes 2-3 loaves of bread a week. He keeps his on the counter but we rarely have it around long enough to spoil. DH is a major bread eater!

I think this is my fourth machine (others were not Zo brand) - it's been going strong for 5-6 years, and if it goes out I'll be ordering another from Amazon in a heart beat.

I'm more likely to make dough for assorted items, dinner rolls, cinnamon rolls, stuffed Pizza.

I prefer to use my stand mixer for making bread, but will use the machine for dough as it's eaier (I don't have to be there).

there are several face book forums for bread machine enthusiast. I know because my husband is on them and he makes bread for us weekly :) we haven't bought bread in over a year! He also bought his machine at a thrift store and had to find a manual online and has many recipes that everyone on there can help you out with any question you have.

I will get a Zojirushi bread machine when this Toastmaster I have fails. Because I don't care if it fails it probably won't. LOL The Zojirushi is the best one on the market right now and under $400. It is one awesome appliance.

I have a Zojirushi bread machine that I bought in 2006! I have no clue how many loaves of bread it has made in those 13 years! We don't buy bread, it is all made in the Zojirushi. I have replaced the pan once, I think, and the mixing paddles quite a few times, but the machine itself is still going strong.

Mine is scheduled to arrive today. I need fresh yeast, dry milk, and King Arthur flour. That kind of flour doesn't have Azod in it which is a dough conditioner and causes problems with my digestion. Got mine from Amazon.

There is a bread machine here at the house....must have belonged to one of my husbands previous wives. I've never used it and it needs to go to a thrift store instead of taking up space.

I have never had a bread machine because freshly baked bread it my downfall. I told anyone who would think of getting me one - not to - because I would bake and eat, bake and eat until I became an episode of My 600 pound life and the wall would have to be removed to get me out!! All the recipes sound so yummy

Alyce - I understand where you are coming from! Before I got back into sewing I was doing a lot of specialty baking as a hobby. Things like danish pastry and fancy cakes and creative deserts. And even though I'd take a lot to share at work, it was causing the weight to creep up.

So I had to stop that hobby and that is when I got back into sewing and then decided to get into quilting. I tell people I have quilting as a hobby because I'm not tempted to eat my mistakes!

I still love doing creative baking, but I really limit it now. I limit by bread intake to about a half slice 5 days a week. DH has always been a super bread lover, and will eat bread as a snack. Lucky for him it doesn't make him put on a lot of extra weight.

We are able to purchase Dakota Maid bread flour from Sam's Club in 25lb bags. We keep it in the freezer and fill up a smaller container that stays in the kitchen as needed. DH orders yeast from Amazon and keeps that in the freezer and refills a small container that stays in the kitchen.

I use to buy wheat berries and grind my own. That does not keep very long once ground as it's got all the oils and stuff still there. Though the berries keep a very long time in the freezer.

There is a neat Blueprint class on the science behind break making. It covers a lot of the "why" behind what is happening and the roles the different ingredients play - like sugar and salt, as they do way more than affect the flavor.

DH has gotten quite good over the years to know if he needs to modify the recipe due to the weather. That is the one big drawback with bread machines, you can't easily gauge if you should add a bit more or less flour as the dough is being worked. So even if you use the same recipe, you may occasionally end up with not so nice loaves.

I open mine when it's kneading and either by look or feel, add flour or water as needed.

I never paid attention of chemicals in food until I read an article about chemicals in commercial made foods given to me from the hospital nutritionist when I had my first child.

King Arthur all purpose or bread flour is one of the better choices and available in most grocery stores. I like Arrowhead Unbleached Organic all purpose flour. Before better flour became available in stores I had to order my flour in large bags from a feed store. The feed store could get better flour then available in grocery stores and cheaper. Read the ingredients. Should be nothing in the flour but whole wheat unbleached flour and non organic will have the 3Bvitamins added,
Niacin, reduced iron, Thiamine mono-nitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid. If more ingredients then it's mostly a little flour added to the chemicals.

For my first loaf I chose the basic white bread and light crust. I used King Arthur flour, not the gluten enhanced kind. It turned out like fancy sponge cake. Very light and looking perfect. All except for one paddle that stayed in the bread. I figure one slice per day would take the place of the loaf that I won't be buying now.

the downer side of homemade bread is it doesn't keep well. Commercial bread generally has 7 to 10 ingredients in it to keep it soft and fresh in taste and appearance. Read the labels of flour you buy, some of these chemicals can be in the flour.

Most of these additives used still in US bread are banned in other parts of the world
Benzoyl peroxide (banned in the EU and China)
Calcium peroxide (banned in the EU and China)
Chlorine (banned in the EU)
Chlorine dioxide gas (banned in the EU and Australia)
Azodicarbonamide (banned in Singapore, the EU and Australia)
Potassium bromate (banned in the EU, Canada, China, Nigeria, Brazil, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Peru and more)
Calcium bromate (banned in the EU and Canada)
Nitrogen dioxide (banned in the EU and Australia)

so just saying, if you eat a loaf slowly, get a set of small pans and freeze the extra loaves.

My reaction was - "if it's banned in China, it must be horrible"!

I read a article by a nutrition export that said "if you can't pronounce all of the ingredients listed for the product, don't buy it"

I enjoy making bread by hand, I find it relaxing. A bread machine is on my wish list; we had one when I was a teenager, but it was big and bulk and half burnt all the loaves, but it was wonderful for kneading! If I'm in a big hurry, I will mix the bread in my food processor, throw it in the fridge before work, then take it out and shape/bake it after work. It doesn't make as smooth a loaf, but any kind of homemade bread is better than store bought!

After I had been baking all our bread for a couple of years, our oven went out and required a part to be ordered. I bought a loaf of sandwich bread and my DH and I both thought we could taste the chemicals in it. I guess that was because we had gotten used to eating sandwiches made with homemade bread nearly every day for lunch.
I too use King Arthur flour, and my Bosch mixer does all the kneading for me. There's always bread in my freezer.

Daffy

I use my kitchen aid to knead the dough and then let in rise in a warm place. I like shaping and baking in oven.

I had no idea that added chemicals were common in flour. I usually use whole wheat and organic except for cakes etc. I will be mindful on white flour.

Thanks Kalama for that list of dreadful chemicals. I think it's the Azod. So I wrote to King Arthur who said not in their flour.

So loaf # 1 was King Arthur but not with the extra gluten, just regular. Now # 3 is in the machine. You can look through the window and see the bread move, it almost alive, well I guess it is. Loaf # 2 was with the gluten, Sir Lancelot flour and was devoured by the neighbor kids. I had one slice and it was pretty good, more bread like than the non extra glulten loaf. That was more like pound cake and I had the crust set too dark.

The Zo machine has so many features on it. It came with a DVD and watching that gave me some good tips on how to measure stuff.

the added gluten helps give the bread elasticity in the dough process and extra nice 'crumb' in the finished product.
If I make a loaf that has real potential, but doesn't quite make the grade, I note it on the side and add a tablespoon or so of gluten the next batch. I also get that at Bob's Red Mill.

the additive list above is part of what is found in finished loaves, not necessarily in flour, just something to watch for in bread flour, particularly if it says bleached.

I've been devouring this thread virtually because I had to cut out basically all bread products in order to manage my diabetes. Back in my early 20s I baked weekly, usually just french bread for me, and a batch of rolls for my roommate (aka, my friend in Phoenix who gave me the Bernina) but I had sort of an open house Saturday mornings and would also make sweet rolls or specialty bakes. I can make me some mean cakes too, but never a good pie crust somehow.

The single thing I miss most in my current way of eating is everything bagels. Drool...

So I can't have a bread machine, I still look when I see a nice one in the box with the manual at the thrift store but I know I can't be trusted with it. When I baked, I did everything in a large bread bowl, that's what those huge ceramic bowls are for. You can warm it up with warm water first, proof the yeast and you do all the mixing and kneading in the bowl, I would put a towel down in one side of my sink for a good work height. Living in Alaska meant I had to do things like warm up the bowl! Would also raise baked goods in the dishwasher during the no-heat dry cycle.