Bread maker recommendations?
Tired of paying $4/loaf for organic sandwich bread, I'd like to invest in a bread machine. I've never used one before, and there are so many on the market that I don't even know where to begin.
I would use it for loaves of whole wheat sandwich bread, and occasionally some fruit/nut breads. Preferably something on the fast side, not too bulky, and does not easily overheat.
What do you use? Is there one that fits these specs? Thanks!
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25 Comments:
Don't use one buy a bread maker, go out and invest in a kitchenaid...or use your hands :) I make my own bread and I simply do it all by hand. With bread practice makes perfect. It takes a few times, but the result is always good if you follow the recipe!
Lilartist at 3:39PM on 02/07/08
I've had a Zojirushi for over 10 years and it's still running like a champ. I recall being soooo hesitant about spending approx. $300 for the machine wondering if I would ever reach the break-even point. I think we are way way past that point. I use it a couple times a week. We make pizza every Friday night so when I walk in from work I throw everything in the pan and hit dough stage. The dough is ready in a little over an hour and the best thing is you can walk away from it to go about your business. I have literally made hundreds of loaves of French, Italian and Challah the same way because they just happen to be our favorites, but any of the loaves from the bread machine books can be baked in the traditional way just by using the machine to "dough stage".
My machine, being older, has a vertical pan, and I never particularly cared for the shape very much. Keep in mind that most machines now have the more traditional horizontal pans and the whole unit must encase a decent durable motor so they are not very small. I have looked at the newer models of the Zojirushis but I am so used to shaping and baking my loaves manually that I'm not ready to give up on my tried and true machine and method. The machines are a bit more streamlined now and also more inexpensive.
BTW, in the Electric Bread Book, there are some whole grain recipes that turn out superbly made in the machine or out. I have to say that I can't really give you a comparo on machines because this was the first and only one I have ever had. We did a lot of research before the purchase, however, to get our best value and we have not regretted it.
When my daughter indicated she wanted a bread machine a few years back, I bought her a Panasonic that was somewhat smaller than mine. I don't think she ever used it and it was probably regifted so I have no idea if they are as good.
frederika at 4:14PM on 02/07/08
I vote for not getting a bread maker. Making bread is easy. Water, flour, salt and yeast and you're good to go.
Jeff Bellamy
http://i12etu.com
jeffbellamy at 4:28PM on 02/07/08
I have a bread machine and I don't like the huge hole it leaves in the bread from the kneading arm. I use my kitchen aid. I love it! I put everything in, let it go for 5 miuntes or so, pop on the top to let it rise and then reshape on the cooking pan, rise, and bake, YUM-O! Plus, the kitchen aid is fantastic for everything! It my favorite multi purpose kitchen utensil (Alton Brown would approve)
rockymountainmarta at 7:44PM on 02/07/08
I must admit I don't own a bread machine, so perhaps my opinion is biased, but my "favorite" breadmaker is my KitchenAid mixer (with spiral dough hook), my hands, and my oven. I find baking bread very relaxing and enjoy being able to get my hands dirty and turn out something better than what I pay $6 for here.
Before spending a couple hundred bucks on a machine, have you tried making No Knead Bread (either from the New York Times, or Cooks Illustrated NKB 2.0) and some variations on that? It's ridiculously easy to put together and can be flavored so many ways.
Furthermore I suggest a trip to your local library for some bread baking recipe books. King Arthur flour has a Whole Grain Baking book that I love, and there are many more authors that explain everything to the last detail.
Now I'm sure you'll get many ideas for breadmakers, this was just my opinion. One of my favorite scents is homemade cinnamon bread cooling on the counter! Good luck and enjoy!
bobcatsteph3 at 8:59PM on 02/07/08
I've been using a bread machine for over 15 years. I have found it's not so much the brand of machine as the extras it offers. Some things to consider:
capacity: how big a loaf do you want to make? (I usually use the1 1/2 lb when it's just two of us at home and use the 2 lb size when the girls are here as well)
configuration of loaf: some machines will make a tall thin loaf and others make a more traditional looking loaf. I actually prefer the tall thin one. It makes nice square slices for sandwiches.
adding extras: some machines will add the nuts and fruits for you with a special dispenser. I have never really seen the need for this and I hesitate to get too many bells and whistles on my appliances--it just increases the chance of breakage.
In 15 years I have only had two machines--they last a long time! So get one you want to look at and be prepared to have it on your counter!
Good luck
smallblondemom at 9:53PM on 02/07/08
My breadmaker sits in the basement. I also say get a kitchenaid mixer and a pizza stone. I have been on bread baking jones for over a year now.
I get lot of ingredients from King Arthur too.
JerzeeTomato at 5:30AM on 02/08/08
Your hands! There is NOTHING as satisfying in the kitchen as starting with an icky mess of flour, yeast, salt, water, etc., and ending up with a warm, soft, pliable, elastic lump of beautiful dough in your hands. Except, of course, eating the warm bread... :)
CookiePie at 10:05AM on 02/08/08
If you're set on the idea of getting a bread machine, I have to admit I haven't a clue; from the sound of it, though, a good mixer would be a better investment.
In terms of cost, though, you can't beat doing it by hand (I'd mention the enjoyment of actually doing it, but since not everyone considers this enjoyable, it isn't automatically relevant).
Making bread can mean very little work, even if the only tools involved are a bowl and your hands. I make bread at least twice, sometimes up to four times a week, because I have a problem with wheat, and spelt bread costs a bomb. On an energetic day, I go all out and knead the dough until it's beautiful and satiny.
On lazy days (more than I'd be happy to enumerate) I simply mix all the ingredients together until they're blended, let the dough rise 45 minutes in a warm (50C) oven, dump it into the loaf pan, let it rise again for about half an hour, and bake it 45 minutes. Actual hands-on time? Maybe 5 minutes. And although if there were justice in the universe, it should be terrible, it's not! In fact, it's still pretty dam' good :)
mongoose at 10:27AM on 02/08/08
Wow, thanks for all your feedback! The overwhelming theme here is that I should just buy a Kitchen Aid and/or make it myself. My only issue is the time constraint with making my own bread, although from the way you've all described it, I might just need to look for more efficient recipes.
I guess I'm still a little wounded from my single attempt at made-by-hand bread that tasted nice, but was so dense that I could have used it as an effective tool for building demolition or coal mining.
savecara at 10:55AM on 02/08/08
savecara - if you don't already own a Kitchen-Aid, you should probably heavily consider purchasing that instead of a bread machine. I just happened to have a bread machine many years before the acquisition of KA. I love my bread machine but it is quite a large kitchen implement. So large, in fact that it is in the basement with the crock pots, wok, pasta machine on one of those big commercial metal shelves from Costco. ( I somehow rationalize that going up and down the steps will wear off some of the calories.) But storage is an issue. You will always make room in youir kitchen for KA because it is so multi-useful and let's face it, they 're just so darned chic. I always use KA to make brioche because the dough is so sticky and needs a long knead time. The heavy duty mixer totally is up to the task.
It sounds like convenience and time are your biggest issues. If you get home late on a daily basis and have the need to feed but not the energy, the machine might be your answer. Not a lot of time at home, but the desire to have healthy home-style breads (from your home) is another reason to consider the bread machine. You can throw all the ingredients in and it's a no-brainer.
frederika at 11:50AM on 02/08/08
savecara - if you don't already own a Kitchen-Aid, you should probably heavily consider purchasing that instead of a bread machine. I just happened to have a bread machine many years before the acquisition of KA. I love my bread machine but it is quite a large kitchen implement. So large, in fact that it is in the basement with the crock pots, wok, pasta machine on one of those big commercial metal shelves from Costco. ( I somehow rationalize that going up and down the steps will wear off some of the calories.) But storage is an issue. You will always make room in youir kitchen for KA because it is so multi-useful and let's face it, they 're just so darned chic. I always use KA to make brioche because the dough is so sticky and needs a long knead time. The heavy duty mixer totally is up to the task.
It sounds like convenience and time are your biggest issues. If you get home late on a daily basis and have the need to feed but not the energy, the machine might be your answer. Not a lot of time at home, but the desire to have healthy home-style breads (from YOUR home) is another reason to consider the bread machine. You can throw all the ingredients in and it's a no-brainer.
Good luck on your decision.
frederika at 11:53AM on 02/08/08
here's another vote for making bread by hand. it's really not very much work and kneading by hand is so meditative and relaxing that when i tried baking the no knead versions i felt cheated.
it's entirely possible to do bread on your own schedule by retarding the rises via refrigeration. sometimes i spread my breadbaking over the entire weekend, by mixing the dough one day, letting it rise the second, and baking the third. there are probably instructions on how to do it properly in any good breadmaking book, but i just wing it and my bread turns out fine. i got the idea to do it from thumbing through a copy of elizabeth david's book on bread.
cybercita at 12:02PM on 02/08/08
oops sorry for the dup post - blame my trigger finger again!
frederika at 12:53PM on 02/08/08
I'm totally on board the stand mixer train. Not only will you get better quality bread (generally speaking), but it's such a better bang for your buck since it can be used for all kinds of other tasks. Why spend $300 on a single purpose specialty tool when you can get a multi-function for $500?
As far a time is concerned, if you don't have a lot of flexibility, look for a refrigerator dough recipe. They usually call for the bread to rise very slowly in the fridge for eight or more hours. There are also many rely on refrigeration to almost completely arrest the rise until you're ready. If you find one of those, you can do your dough prep at night, before bed, and bake the next day. Also, I've encountered many basic bread recipes that call for only one, relatively short rising getting you a finished loaf in something like 2 hours. Finally, don't forget that you can do a baking marathon once a week, and freeze some of your baked loaves. Even if you sacrifice a little in texture, it'll still WAY outshine anything store-bought!
Your loaf density challenges can certainly be overcome. It just takes practice. The more you make bread, the more you'll get a feel for what's right and what's not, the peculiarities of your own oven, etc. Gotta learn to speak its language before you can become fluent! Good luck!!!
LoCo at 1:38PM on 02/08/08
btw.....if you can find a good kitchen outlet store, you can get a Kitchenaid for under $200.00....I got my Artisan for $179.00 just 4 years ago at an outlet store in Niagara Falls, NY, and it's still working like a champ!
mepolo at 3:48PM on 02/08/08
A friend lent me her bread machine and I returned it, unused. It made no sense to me. My KitchenAid and oven are all I knead (oops - spelling error! ;). And the loaves look like honest to goodness real bread!!! Imagine that.
PerkyMac at 4:20PM on 02/08/08
Okay, I will take one for the team.
I own a bread machine. I love it. In fact, I love it more than I love most of my other small appliances. Here are my reasons. (READ OPINIONS)
1. Thrilling that Kitchenaids are magnificent and blah blah blah. I have no use for a Kitchenid as I do not bake a whole lot and if I do, my good old hand mixer can handle the job.
2. Kitchenaids have also gotten a bad rap for switching to nylon gears that break down even faster than the metal ones did. I have so many other things to do with $300+ dollars.
3. I can dump things into my bread maker and have warm bread when I get home after an ass kicking day.
4. I can dump things into my bread maker and set it for dough and walk away. I come back an hour later and I can make loaves, buns, braids, sticks, rolls, whatever I feel like. No law says you have to use the bake function.
5. Bread machines do not have to be babysat like a Kitchenaid. Dump. Push button. Go do laundry. Better yet...go shopping with the money you saved on the dumpoff Kitchenaid!
6. I think my bread machine was $99 bucks on sale and then I used a Linens and Things coupon. I love that sucker.
7. Dont knock it til you try it. I would personally rather rub salt in my eyes than either a) bake b) knead dough for an hour c) clean up the mess from kneading dough by hand.
ChelleyD01 at 10:45PM on 02/08/08
Can I add one more comment here: yes, it's great to make bread by hand but it does require time. You have to be home at the right time to knead and bake. Some of us don't have days that split up like that and this is where the bread machine is a big help.
Each of us has to work with what we have!
I LOVE my bread machine--without it, it's store-bought bread or nothing!
smallblondemom at 10:56PM on 02/08/08
Add my name to the by hand list...you can produce many many more varieties and textures simply by making/kneading the dough differently, IMHO. I have had a bread machine in the past but have found that despite variations the textures mainly turn out to be uniform/limited. :(
Plus, kneading is scientifically proven to be therapeutic. somewhere.
jazzinx at 10:58PM on 02/08/08
To say don't get a kitchenaid when you have never had or used one is just not germane. I have both a bread maker and a kitchenaid and the bread is better from the dough hook then the spinning gear. It is even better than if I kneaded it. I bake a lot. Anyone who reads my posts knows that. A kitchenaid is an investment for some people but it does many things where as your breadmaker does only a small 2, makes bread and dough. My kitchenaid mixer was bought for me 16 years ago and its still going and it is not the Artisan one, its the old 4 qt regular model. I do so much baking I cannot knead everything by hand anymore, my hands are wearng down faster than my kitchenaid.
I would like to hear from the people who have both the standing mixer and the bread maker what they have to say is based on actual usage.
JerzeeTomato at 8:11AM on 02/09/08
I have had a bread maker for years. In the beginning I used it fairly often but was never thrilled with the shape of the loaf. I then started using it just through the dough cycle and would shape and bake it myself, definitely a step up. In recent years I do my bread making by hand, I love the process of kneading (yucky mess to smooth dough is wonderful). I only use my Kitchenaid for really wet doughs. I will admit I don't make bread as often as I would like because of the time factor. My opinion is that by hand or kitchenaid is the way to go but you have to enjoy the process. If you want to make bread frequently and don't have the time or really enjoy doing it by hand then you can get a great loaf of bread from a breadmaker.
I think I'll make some bread this weekend.
mrsmoosie at 10:24AM on 02/09/08
I have both a kitchenaid and a bread machine. Both sit on my countertop and both get used quite often. However, I never use the kitchenaid for bread--if I have the time I do it by hand (and enjoy it) and the rest of the time it's into the machine, lock and load and ready to go.
smallblondemom at 10:43PM on 02/09/08
Should have mentioned: When I said that the 'short form' involved about 5 minutes of hands-on time, that includes pulling out and measuring ingredients, proofing yeast in warm water (I'm always neurotic about getting a dud batch and having to toss the whole mess out), mixing everything until blended, and...
CLEAN-UP.
Even when I do choose to do the 'proper' longer version, and knead the dough,
I don't do it on a counter, I do this in a large bowl which I hold in my lap
(while reading or listening to something, depending on whether I'm using one or both hands to knead), because scattering flour makes me nuts, and I cannot see the advantage of doing something that is essentially turning, folding, and pressing in place, on the counter (which is usually too high for proper ergonomics, anyway).
Seriously: five minutes hands-on, for those occasions that you can't be bothered.
The only rising which really needs to be carefully monitored is the final one, before the bread goes in the oven, and that doesn't usually take very long, roughly half an hour, give or take. Dough is tolerant and perfectly happy to sit in the refrigerator overnight. A quick scrape around the side with a bench scraper part-way though kneading incorporated what might otherwise crust up on the sides of the bowl, so that after the dough is transferred to the pan, cleaning it up is no work at all.
This isn't an anti-machine stance, but IF you're considering a machine (bread maker or stand mixer) primarily because of the apparent amount of work/time/cleanup involved in making bread by hand, you may want to reconsider (particularly if you haven't got a lot of space on your counter or in your cabinets).
mongoose at 10:22AM on 02/10/08
I have the Breadman Ultimate (ret. about $100.) and have been completely satisfied. I even found an outstanding recipe for Whole Wheat Flax seed bread. Makes for great turkey sandwiches!
HairyBackJoe at 10:19AM on 02/13/08