Who has a bread machine?? Do you like it? What would be the best kind to get??? We go through a lot of breads, rolls, pizza dough and so on. Figured it might be good to get on and start making my own ya know..
I have this one by Sunbeam I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE it! It does 1.5 lb and 2 lb loaves. You can pick your crust color (light, med, dark). It has several settings including a dough setting (if you want the machine to handle the dough and rising then you can take out the dough to make pizza or rolls or hot dog/hamburger buns ect). It also has a express bake setting which I ADORE! You can make afresh loaf of bread in an HOUR! (It takes like 5 tsp of yeast, but I like that even if I'm busy or forget to make bread that morning I can have a fresh loaf of bread with dinner if I start it before I start dinner) I've had it for at least 7 years and never had a bit of problem out of it. The non-stick pan is still non-stick and each loaf comes out perfect (unless a child distracts you and you put in an extra cup of flour...ask me how I know that LOL). It is priced a little higher than normal right now. It normally runs $50-$60ish but I googled and the price on it seems to have gone up everywhere. If mine broke tomorrow, I'd replace it with the exact same one.
I've had two different ones over the years, and I can honestly say I didn't care for either. I would much rather make it myself. The last one I used to knead the dough for pizza until the paddle broke, and I never bothered replacing it. I've been told that a bread machine is either something you love or you hate!
I am not completely sold on bread machines. I have heard great stories and negative stories, even about quality brands. Plus, I like to make two or three loaves at a time. So I will keep making my bread by hand. I do not want to spend that amount of money on something I might not like.
I purchased my Welbilt bread machine at the local thrift store for only $8. I enjoy that it is programmable, so I can load up the ingredients in the morning, set it, be gone all day and have hot bread at dinnertime. I use the "dough" setting a lot for breakfast breads and rolls. The bread machine is always packed for camping....I set it up early in the morning with the crockpot. We all enjoy the day together and come back to the campsite to a great meal waiting.
A Welbilt was what I had, but that was long ago. It wasn't programable. I could never find a recipe that consistently made a good quality loaf of bread.
Now I also make bread without the bread machine a good bit as well. For one I enjoy kneading the dough-it's very therapeutic! LOL But I'd replace my bread machine if it died. It's nice to dump the ingredients in, push a button and be done. Sometimes it's all I have time for, plus it's not near as messy as slinging flour all over the kitchen to make it by hand I'll be honest, I make these (by mixer/hand) more than I use my bread machine.
Josie, thanks for the link. That recipe looks very versatile. I bet if a pinch of sugar was added with some sourdough starter and it was treated as a slow rising bread, it would taste incredible. Thanks!
You're very welcome. I use that recipe the most. Its quick & easy to tweak to suit. It is my go-to recipe for sure.
I used to have a bread machine, I got to the point where I was only using it for the dough cycle. My husband got me a Kitchen Aid mixer for Mothers Day one year, now I use that for dough, and love it. I think it's because I'm a control freak, really. I like a "real" bread shape, and I like good crust color.
This is me!!! :lol: I have a fun time making different breads. I like shaping them on trays or using different size loaf pans. When I make sourdough bread, I like to make it on a baking sheet instead of in a loaf pan. I like the natual shape it takes. Plus, I like my crust lighter and Handsome is more of a crusty guy. I can take mine out early and leave his in longer. Handmaking bread really opens up doors for playing.
I have toyed with the idea of a bread maker, but I think prefer being more hands on. Besides, I bake sourdough bread and it seems to be a bit more unpredictable than doughs made with commercial yeast. I like hand kneading, although I do use my KitchenAide with dough whip to mix.
I have a bosch mixer that I use for mixing and kneading and then I form loaves and bake them in the oven. I LOVE my bosch and wouldn't go back to anything else. Plus I bake 4-6 loaves at a time so a bread machine wouldn't work for me.
I also found my bread machine at a thrift store. I think I payed only $6 and it still had the book. I have found numerous ones at the Salvation Army store for $5 each. I suggest buying one of the used ones to see if you are going to like it or not. You can always invest in a new one with the specific features you want afterwards.
I just got one at goodwill for $7. We haven't used it much. My first loaf I had a family emergency come up and was gone for almost 24hrs after it was done and it got all soggy from sitting in the warm bread machine and cooling. The next loaf was whole wheat and it was too dense from the recipe so I plan to try a different recipe that is maybe half and half and I think actual bread flour will work better than all purpose flour but that's what I had on hand. I can't wait to try some of the doughs because we love homemade pizza and use a lot of garlic bread so if we can make them ourselves it should help w/ cost I hope