Does anyone use the new bread making machines ? If so, how do you like them. My question is this...if you have one do you need to always use the mixes they sell or can you use your own receipe for bread making. Have thought about buying one but they are "pricey" and don't know if they money out ways the need....Please let me know what you all think ??

-- Helena (windyacs@npacc.net), October 12, 2001

Answers

I used a bread machine for over a year for all the bread my family ate, which was 2 or 3 loaves a week. It took me under five minutes in the evening to prepare a hot loaf to come out just after we awoke the next morning. That was pretty cool. You can definitely make your own mixes. The machines come with recipe books. I used to bag up 18 loaves' worth of dry ingredients in individual ziploc bags with the wet ingredients and baking times written on the outside. It took a few minutes to do the bags the first time, but I reused them, so didn't have to write all that out each time.

As for quality, if you're any good with bread, you can do a better job without a bread machine. I found the crusts kind of thick and chewy, and the bread generally was not as flavorful or tender as I like. I attribute the flavor and texture to the two rapid rises rather than the two or three long rises my handmade bread gets. I attribute the less than ideal crusts to the limitations of baking in a teensy weensy oven.

Bottom line - it's a whole lot better than store bought, and really easy to make, but handmade is noticeably better.

-- Laura Rae Jensen (lrjensen@nwlink.com), October 12, 2001.

I paid about $50 for mine at Wal-mart. I've been using it for 2 years. You just dump in the water, flour, salt, sugar, butter, yeast etc.... you don't have to use store bought mixes (they are so expensive). You can find lots of receipes for bread machines. Our favorite in potato bread. I make bread every couple of days, so much less hassle than trying to make bread by hand. Also, you can set the timer to start baking whenever you want so that you can walk in the house to a fresh baked loaf.

-- anita in NC (anitaholton@mindspring.com), October 12, 2001.

Hi Helena,

Laura Rae hit the nail on the head. The bread machines are better than store bought, and not as good as totally homemade, but it's wonderful to smell the bread baking. I'm on my third bread machine in 10 years and we use it probably 3 times each week. I have never used any pre-mixes. I read their ingredients and couldn't pronounce half of the preservatives added. I buy King Arthur Flour (nothing added) that is specifically for machines. I also don't use dry milk, I use goat milk. There are lots of recipes available. On Yahoo groups there is a talk list called bread-machine. It's really helpful. Happy eating!

-- Charleen in WNY (harperhill@eznet.net), October 12, 2001.

I love my bread maker. Never use the packaged mixes. I also have been setting mine for dough cycle and mixing up the ingredients for homemade noodles and perogies. The machine does all the mixing and then I roll it out. Also some of the new machines also has a jam cycle for homemade jam.I feel it is diffinatley worth the investment.

-- tracy (murfette@stargate.net), October 12, 2001.

My wife bought me a breadmaker a few years back. I love it. I dont do any fancy breads with it, but even I can mix up something pretty quick and make some tasty bread. I have tried some of the boxed breads. They are ok, but expensive.

As noted, I am sure you can make better bread in an oven but you can do it automaticly at 3am in the morning while your sleeping. Hot and fresh bread and some home made jam/apple butter is the way to start the morning.

-- Gary (gws@redbird.net), October 12, 2001.

I found a brand-new bread machine still in the box at a yard sale for $20. so how could I not buy it. I use mine every few days and really enjoy the delicious smell of homemade bread. I don't seem to have the touch for bread made by hand, so the machine works well for me. And it's 100% better than what you buy at the store.

Now I want to try making hamburger and hot dog rolls. Does anyone have suggestions on how to form them without using special "bun" pans?

Wishing you enough.

-- Trevilians (aka Dianne in Mass) (Trevilians@mediaone.net), October 12, 2001.

About the burger buns, I mix mine in the bread machine then roll out the dough a bit less than 1/2" thick and let it rest 5 minutes or so. This is to allow the rolled dough time to relax. I use a big biscuit cutter (actually a tuna can with the edge cut off and holes for air punched in the bottom)to cut oversized rounds. Stack 2 rounds together to make a pre-split bun. If you don't want to go to that trouble, leave the dough thicker and slice horizontally with a knife after baking. Re-roll the scraps, again letting the dough relax. Bake as usual. I haven't been so successful with the hot dog rolls yet but have experimented with rolling "snakes" if you don't mind a lot of inconsistency. I have a pretty good burger/hotdog roll recipe that came originally from Fleishman's if anyone wants to email me directly.

-- marilyn (rainbow@ktis.net), October 12, 2001.

I'm in agreement with the above. When I moved, I had to regulate (check) the dough and make adjustments ( I suppose based upon changed altitude and humidity). Anyhooo...I tend to use the dough cycle much more because it saves me the mixing and kneading and I still can test it by hand before I bake. I often make rolls or bake loaves in my regular oven. But my bread machine was a good investment.

BTW: I posted a question about Bread machine mixes that you can find below (kitchen/baking?).

Also, www.kitchenlink.com has a bread machine forum as well.

Happy baking

-- Ann Markson (tngreenacres@hotmail.com), October 12, 2001.

Get one that has only one paddle in the bottome, as the paddle does make an unsightly hole in the loaf. The best cycle is the dough cycle - it does all the kneading and then you can bake it in the oven yourself so it doesn't have that breadmachine taste to it. I use mine a lot for whole wheat pizza dough.

-- Christina (introibo2000@yahoo.com), October 12, 2001.

I just LOVE my bread machine. But you know what the best part is? Hubby loves it so much that he makes the bread!! LOL Sure can't beat that one.

-- Colleen (pyramidgreatdanes@erols.com), October 12, 2001.

They are a LOT cheaper than they used to be. We see them for $40 or so, depending on the features you want. I hear that you can even cook rice or incubate yogurt in some of the newer models.

I have one--used it mostly for pizza dough. Didn't make other breads much with it. I agree with previous posters that the bread has a "funny" taste--I think it gets it from the nonstick surface. If they made one that would use homemade sourdough starter (straight from the fridge), I would probably use it more. Since I started making sourdough bread, I don't use it. I also don't have to worry about yeast going bad. If I want one of the fancy breads (lots of grains and nuts), I buy a loaf once in a while (usually on sale). We don't eat a lot of bread in our family, except for quick breads (banana, pumpkin, etc.), so we keep it in the freezer and take out a slice or two when we want it.

The other thing is that the loaves look funny--you KNOW exactly where they came from. If you are into aesthetics, attractive they are not.

However, as others have said, they can be programmed just like your coffeepot, which can be great if you want bread by a certain time. There are lots of bread machine books out--check them out of your library--so you don't ever need the mixes. And I'm sure there are several basic recipes out of the manual that comes with it that you can customize to your taste.

Happy baking!

-- GT (nospam@nospam.com), October 12, 2001.

Helena, I borrowed a bread machine from a friend to see if I liked it. I didn't like the taste or texture. I also didn't like making one loaf at a time. If I'm going to get everything out to bake I make 4 to 6 loaves at a time. Good Luck, Kaye in W Central Il

-- Kaye (klreno@irtc.net), October 13, 2001.

My mother in law bought us one for Christmas a few years back. I tried using it several times now but never had much luck with it (used a few differnt brands/types of bread mixes). The bread never really cooked very well, either it would not rise well or it would overcook it and the outer crust would burn. Plus trying to get the baked loaf out of the machine is a pain (because it sticks to the bottom part of the machine where the mixer attaches). Now if I use it I just use the dough cycle only and then bake it in the oven.

-- Kimberly (mamy2raven@aol.com), October 17, 2001.

I'm on my second bread machine as I wore out the first one! I love mine and use it often. I rarely use the dough cycle and I love the timer on it. We can wake up to the smell of baking bread! The few times that I've used a bread machine mix, I didn't like the results. The taste wasn't that good and it didn't raise well. If this machine were to break or wear out, I wouldn't hesitate to buy another.

-- Ardie/WI (ardie54965@hotmail.com), October 17, 2001.