Just Bought a Bread Machine!

[woodland_miniatures]

Well, all you folks talking about your sourdoughs and so on got my mouth watering for home-made bread again, especially whole-grain bread. So, there I was, cruising around Bob's Red Mill's webstore and adding things merrily to my cart and....made the mistake of having a look at the "merchandise" category.

Now, my hands are not what they used to be and I'll do anything to keep them happy and flare-up free so that I can keep on making itty-bitty mini things, so - here was this breadmachine. And, well, I bought it. OMG, I can't believe I did that!

It's a "Breadman Ultimate Plus TR2500" and I have seen it elsewhere, have read pretty positive reviews of it. At a friend's house I have used a bread machine and could see why folks have them - especially busy folks and folks like me who just plain don't want to deal with kneading, and kneading, and kneading....those wonderful whole-grain breads that are so good for our joints if we EAT them. They are NOT good for the joints in the kneading, I can testify to that!

Anyway, does anyone else out there have one of these, and if so, whaddaya think of it? I shoudl have mine early next week....

[grazhina]

I've had one for a few years now, works fine. It does leave a hole in the bottom on the loaf when you bake bread in it, but usually it's no big deal to me. It is handy for keeping fresh bread on hand. Just put in the ingredients, check to be sure they mixed right, and leave it alone till it beep-beep-beeps.

Mostly I use it to make and knead dough, though, like for pizza or French bread, etc. BTW, if the cookbook you get is the same as mine, the French bread on page 55 was so so, more just like plain white bread, the recipe on page 95 comes out much better. I added a plop of oil to my ingredients.

I did not like the focaccia dough recipe on 107, I thought it came out dry and tasteless.

I haven't tried many of the other recipes in it, because I have my own that I've used for years.

[woodland_miniatures]

Thanks, Grazhina, you've made me feel LOTS better. I don't mind a hole in the bottom of a loaf either - where the kneading/mixing paddle goes, right? Like you, I'll check out the recipes in the cookbook, but I've got a pretty good collection of my own tried and true ones I KNOW taste good - I'll follow your advice about the French bread etc.

Thank you!!

So now I can't wait for the thing to be delivered by UPS, so I can start baking LOL!! (not to mention all the flours etc. I ordered - my pantry's going to be very, very well stocked for the winter!)

[doogster]

I have got to get a bread maker one of these days, the best I've seen is a B&D my brother's had for over a decade but I've not seen one for years. I keep looking at the Cuisinart machine, most of my appliances are Cuisinart and I've always found them to be solid.

[nechee]

I have a bread machine that I got off of freecycle. It was still new in the box. The woman got it for a wedding present and never used it. I adore it. At the end of the last knead I take the mixing arm off so that the only hole in the loaf is a little one that the mixing arm stays on. I use mine almost every day. My kids love the bread that comes out of it and I love the rolls that I make with it. I have a recipe in my book for bagels and if there is one thing that my kids will go through it is bagels. I just make the dough and freeze it (freezes well) then I make bagels whenever my chilren are throwing fits for them(they usually only like the ones that the local Tim Hortons makes but they like my homemade ones more.)

I recommend a bread machine for everyone.

[woodland_miniatures]

Oh, that is so good to know, Kathie, and that's a great idea about taking the mixing/kneading paddle out before the baking. My machine is supposed to arrive today - it only had to come from northern Oregon here to central Washington, so didn't take absolutely forever. So I'll be reading the directions and no doubt baking a little something up a bit later today....

Doogster, I was completely broken-hearted when my Cuisinart finally died of old age and extreme use a couple of years ago, after 25 years of hard use. Bless that thing, it kneaded bread beautifully, chopped, sliced, diced, mixed....Oh, how I miss it! That company does indeed make wonderful appliances.

[LLyn M.]

I had a wonderful bread machine(of coarse I forgot the brand) when I lived in CT.I bought it from QVC and it was great!! Too bad I left it behind when I moved to Texas.

We lost a Vit-a-mix that way too!! Fatigue and anxiety to head south before the snows started made us rush a bit too much and some great stuff went to auction.Well I'm sure the new owners got a deal.And would I buy another bread machine?? YUP!

[woodland_miniatures]

Ran the "empty" cycle to burn off whatever oils may be left from the manufacturing process, as recommended, and now have a French loaf in there rising. Mouth is already watering in anticipation....

[Wolfie]

I have two bread machines, and they are both used a lot. Here when we cannot get out to the storesw in the wintertime, we depend on them. Usually I mix the dough, but shape it and bake it myself. I have a cusinart and also a Zoe.

I use them more than any other machiens in my kitchen. Especially from Fall to spring.

[woodland_miniatures]

Wolfie, that was a major reason why I got this machine - WINTER. My small town doesn't have a food store of any sort, unless you count the liquor store which has a sorry assortment of canned/dry goods, so there just isn't any place to get bread short of going to Cle Elum or Ellensburg. And I'd rather not do that more than once a month when there's several feet of snow on the ground.

BTW, the French was pretty good - I cut down on the sugar the recipe called for and used the Medium crust, and it made a pretty reasonable loaf. So far, so good....

[sparklepuppies]

Okay, so after reading this thread, I have added bread machine to my birthday or Christmas list. I had mentioned wanting one last year, and Mama bought me one then took it back because she wasn't sure if I was serious. I wasn't sure either that I would use it, but after reading so much on here the last few days about making bread, I definitely do want one!

Is there anything in particular I should look for in buying one, or is just any one okay for a complete bread-making beginner? And, where do you buy the "stuff" for it? Do you just use normal ingredients? I'm assuming a book will come with it, but I want to be prepared if stuff is going to be hard to get, and also add that to the list if it needs to be ordered or anything.

Thanks!

[woodland_miniatures]

Tracy, I got this particular machine on impulse, though I had looked at several others in the past - the darn thing was for sale at the natural foods website where I was shopping for cereals, grains etc. It's a Salton Breadman Ultimate Plus T2500, and they seem to range from $75 - $150; others here have mentioned Cuisinart and Zoe...(the brand name is longer than that, but I can't remember it!).

As far as supplies, your basics are available in any grocery store: unbleached white flour, whole wheat flour, yeast, salt, sugar (or honey, or molasses, or brown sugar), milk....Believe me, you can get exotic in a hurry, but even so, most everything can be had at a good grocery store. I was shopping online at Bob's Red Mill (a whole grain mill in Oregon - most grocery stores carry a few of their things, and health food stores carry a LOT) because I wanted certain cereals and flours that my stores don't seem to carry, not to mention having it delivered instead of having to spend all day driving to the next big town where the stores are....

[sharon]

I also have a Zoe bread machine that I got online for the best price. I got it after reading Wolfie's posts about the wonderful breads she was making. I was so afraid to make bread from scratch. This machine is wonderful. It has two paddles to mix the bread. I love this machine for the convenience of home made bread. I also make rolls, pizza crust, sticky buns.

[KathieB]

The name is Zojirushi ... I have a model with the two paddles. It makes a horizontal loaf-shaped loaf rather than a square block that many of the vertical bread machines produce. I love it!

[woodland_miniatures]

Mine also makes a horizontal loaf, Kathie, and I like that about it. It's still a funny shaped thing, but not quite that "baked in a coffee can" shape that you get with some of the other machines.

I'm thinking to try a whole wheat loaf today....:wub:

[havanaholly]

I still use the bimanual model I was born with, although I do the mixing and initial kneading with the breadhook aattachment on Mr Kitchenaid. I find that the kneading helps the circulation in my hands, and if I do it slow and don't kill myself at it, it rises just fine.

[woodland_miniatures]

Well, an update here, and you're all going to think I'm nuts - so what else is new? I just sold the bread machine last night on Craig's list, yeah, that's right - I took a loss on it, but it went to a nice family with teenage boys whose last bread machine croaked a while back and they couldn't afford to buy a new one. The listing was up for all of an hour LOL.

Here's my reasoning, if any: I've lost at least 90 pounds in the last few years, stalled out for a while and have recently started losing again, and still have about 80 to go. The last thing in the world I really need is something that's going to make it easy for me to have luscious baked goods - or even really good fresh bread AND BUTTER - because I found in the last few days that nope, I haven't improved on my self-control one little bit. I've learned in the last few years the best way for me to NOT eat certain things is, don't have them in the house. At all, ever.

When I bought the bread machine online, it was a complete, out of my mind impulse buy - I was on a natural foods website that has exactly the kind of whole grains and such that's helped me to lose the weight, and I made the mistake of looking at their "merchandise" category, and well....I plead temporary insanity. Should never do online shopping late at night....

Anyway, the couple who bought the bread machine were thrilled, and I figure I just made my charitable contribution for the month. :wub:

[Wolfie]

Well I love both of my machines.....My Zoe is the old one from the mid-90's, and my Cusinart is rectangular. I have 14 bred machine receipe books, and love them all! I make my dough only and form into rolls, loaves, and all kinds of shapes. It's addicting though....and can be fattening.....but is far better.

As to ingredients. Flour, yeast, water, sometimes butter and sugar, etc. Normal ingredients you would find in the store or house. Bread machine yeast is the best for these babies. I have 50 pounds of flour in my cupboard for the winter. I stock up for winter. And there is nothing like the rich smell of homemade bread when it's snowing outside and piling up and you know you don't have to run down to the store for a loaf of (blech) bread.

[sparklepuppies]

I got one! Mama got it for me for my birthday. I can't wait to use it, hopefully I'll have time tomorrow night when I get home. I'm so excited!

I'm going to be making wheat bread, so I got King Arthur's Whole Wheat flour. I don't think I saw anything called bread machine flour, or bread machine yeast either. I got active dry yeast like the directions said. Will the regular flour work okay? This was at a grocery store, I wonder what other store would have bread machine flour? And does that come in wheat also?

[Starfire]

All this talk reminded me that I had not used our bread machine for quite some time. Got it out and did a whole wheat loaf last night. It is so easy and we love it. Need to get some supplies in as the pre-packaged stuff gets expensive.

[sparklepuppies]

I went home for lunch today and started a whole wheat loaf. I watched it for a few minutes, and I'm not sure it's doing what it's supposed to (watched pot never boils, watched bread never rises?), but I'm going to have faith that it will all work out and I'll have fresh bread when I get home! Yippee!

[KathieB]

Tracy, our Walmart carries bread flour. It really does make a difference.

[sparklepuppies]

Thanks Kathie, I'll try that. I never go to Walmart, but I guess if I need something from there...

My first attempt did NOT go well. It overflowed and burned really bad, and I wasn't home to stop it. It didn't mix up completely at first, so maybe that's part of the problem. And the bottom was all slimy, not cooked. The house still smells like burnt, so I'm really scared to try it again, and the bread maker itself is just a mess, even after spending over 30 minutes cleaning it, and it still smells. I will definitely wait until the weekend where I can spend time and watch it. And do some reading on what to adjust for those issues.

[rodentraiser]

Oh my goodness, you guys are talking about bread machines and here I'm now practicing making no knead bread today. I'm waiting for it to rise now before I shape it into baguettes. I'll let you all know how that turns out (and I don't think it's goimg well now).

Has anyone here ever invested in a mill? I think you can get mills from Bob's Red Mill too. I read an article once about people who buy their wheat from Bob's Red Mill and mill it themselves to get flour. From what I understand, the bread goes from oven to mouth and disappears, and people have been know to gain a million pounds eating it because it's that good. That's something I want to try some day, but given how expensive the mills were....Of course, I remember a couple years ago when we were poking around the junk stores, there were a lot of hand operated ones around, so maybe.....

[jujurodgers]

Well, an update here, and you're all going to think I'm nuts - so what else is new? I just sold the bread machine last night on Craig's list, yeah, that's right - I took a loss on it, but it went to a nice family with teenage boys whose last bread machine croaked a while back and they couldn't afford to buy a new one. The listing was up for all of an hour LOL.

Here's my reasoning, if any: I've lost at least 90 pounds in the last few years, stalled out for a while and have recently started losing again, and still have about 80 to go. The last thing in the world I really need is something that's going to make it easy for me to have luscious baked goods - or even really good fresh bread AND BUTTER - because I found in the last few days that nope, I haven't improved on my self-control one little bit. I've learned in the last few years the best way for me to NOT eat certain things is, don't have them in the house. At all, ever.

When I bought the bread machine online, it was a complete, out of my mind impulse buy - I was on a natural foods website that has exactly the kind of whole grains and such that's helped me to lose the weight, and I made the mistake of looking at their "merchandise" category, and well....I plead temporary insanity. Should never do online shopping late at night....

Anyway, the couple who bought the bread machine were thrilled, and I figure I just made my charitable contribution for the month.

LOL you are funny! yep you did something good and then also reinforced your motivation for your own health! you met, bought, used, and dismissed your temptation!!!! sounds like a good thing all around LOL still funny

I love bread and use my cheapo machine but then i make a loaf and am lucky to get one slice as everyone else in the house loves it too!! So I essentially make it to feed the family, not so much me cause I love my bread and butter too!