Anyone use a bread machine to bake their own bread?

[denny272]

I'm thinking of buying a bread baking machine. Do you think it's cheaper to make bread or just buy it? Any tips on a good brand? A good bread baking cook book?...etc I'm not at all into the whole wheat type of breads. I love soft yummy, most likely unhealthy, white bread. :)

Thanks in advance for the help!

[icebear]

i have a bread machine. my sister gave it to me, she had thought it was broken (it was a messed up electrical outlet, not the machine) so she bought another then discovered that she had two working ones lol.... anyway, i'm not sure what brand mine is, but its a basic one that can make 1.5 and 2# loaves, it has a setting for quick breads, french breads, whole grain and basic... bake settings for crust color from light to dark, a bake only or dough mix only setting.... and a delay timer.


if you are making just basic white bread with flour, water, yeast, sugar and salt its pretty inexpensive to make. when recipes call for dry powdered milk, eggs or flavored breads the price goes up accordingly. boxed mixes are usually spendy, but tend to be really good. www.allrecipes.com (http://www.allrecipes.com) has some good machine bread recipes, browse them before spending $ on a book you might not need.

i think if you look for a known and reputable name brand machine and match it with a price you are willing to pay, you should be pleased with whatever you get.

my only gripe about bread machine loaves is their wonky shape and the divet the mixing paddle leaves... but if you use the machine to mix the dough and then bake it off in a regular oven in a traditional pan, you can avoid this- if you must have a normal looking loaf :)


i use my machine in spurts, i'll bake 10 loaves in a row and have fresh bread for dinner every night, then i won't use it for a couple months, then back again....

its nice to have though, fresh bread makes saturday or sunday dinner a little bit more special. and there's nothing more homey like the fragrance of baking bread. :)

[jeshurun]

Here I thought the whole point of bread machines was so you could throw in all sorts of healthy stuff into the dough...like carrots that have been juiced:idunno

[icebear]

Here I thought the whole point of bread machines was so you could throw in all sorts of healthy stuff into the dough...like carrots that have been juiced:idunno
is that what you do? got a recipe? i love carrot juice but rarely make it cause of all the pulp that is left behind and any recipe i find to use it in ends up being something thats not anything i'd make if i didn't feel the need to not waste the pulp.
i'd love to use it in something i'd make anyway.

[mmullig]

I do not have one, but my mother-in-law does. I love it when she makes fresh bread, but she says that it is cheaper to buy it and a whole lot easier. She only uses hers for special occasions, like Thanksgiving or Christmas.

[antsinmypants]

I have one that works with our Gluten Free Bread. It's "ok" and I use it about once a month. I just haven't found quite the right bread yet. I'm still working on it.

The gluten free breads I tend to like are biscuits or cake/pie related or pita-like... so I just don't get to use it as much as I should.

I had been using it to make zuchinni and carrot and banana bread though, and for me that was a "life saver" because I could just throw in the ingredients and let it go, check on it at the "add more items" phase and poke it a bit with a spatula to ensure it all mixed right and let it cook on its own, and just turn it out.

My DH likes it because he can order a Dr Schär mix and throw it in and let it go and have all the bread he likes. But, I really don't like all of the Schär mixes, and you have to halve most of them for them to work in the machine.


You can use fruit or veggie juices instead of the same amount of water in most recipes, but I'm sure you'd have to tweak the sugar and salt to make it come out right..

[twelvesmaster]

My bread machine also has a "pasta" and a "jam" setting. I've used the machine to make pasta and it really is a time saver.

Bread machines are great because (1) they do the kneading, which I hate, (2) you control the ingredients and eliminate the questionable preservatives and unknown content of store-bought, (3) the versatile machines available today also do so many other things -- quick bread mixes also work in them as long as you don't require a large loaf, (4) the smell of fresh baked bread will insure it all gets eaten right away, instead of sitting for days in a bread box.

[Lynn]

While I was ill for a few weeks recently and unable to make our bread, we bought it at the store, and for the really good, nutritious bread, we had to pay close to $3 a loaf. That's pretty pricey, if you ask me.
Now that I appear to have recovered from all the 'winter' ailments, I have begun baking bread again. Even though for years I used a BreadMan Pro bread machine, I have been using my Kitchen Aid (got it for Christmas) to do the stirring together, kneading and then I follow up by letting the dough rise in the bowl, rise in the pan, and then bake. Oh, that heavenly smell.
If you like white bread, baking it yourself with a stand mixer equipped with dough hooks will give you better results than bread machine bread, imho. My daughter-in-law uses a Black & Decker bread machine which cost about $75 or less, and her loaves of whole wheat turn out beautifully.
If you read the list of ingredients on bread labels in the store, you might be surprised what they put in there. :rolleyes

[icebear]

some actually put "sawdust" in there i hear

[jondy]

I just started using my bread machine again. DH won't eat it -he likes the all white stuff from the store. But the healthier ones I want are spendy - and I just thought I'd try it again. I don't always follow a specific recipe but have all the right things there... I use olive oil instead of the butter, etc. I add vital wheat protein (that helps the whole or part wheat raise better) and I use honey instead of sugar. I sometimes throw in oatmeal and some nuts - currently I'm using rye berries because that's what I have on hand.