Tell me about breadmakers!

[SarahKate]

I've been thinking about getting one for a while.....for a few reasons - we like "homemade" bread, but also to try to get away from the breads that have corn syrup in them.

Is it pretty convenient to make your own bread? Do you use it enough to justify the cost? Did you buy one and then it ended up not getting used? Are there other things you can make in it?

 

[greens_in_WA]

we use ours a *lot* at least once a week but mostly for dough: pizza, breadsticks, focacia or french bread for special occassions. the shape ended up odd for sandwiches on regular bread and its only good for about a day (b/c it lacks the nasty preservatives put in by the manufacturers of course!) For sandwiches I buy the costco wheat bread - 2 giant loves for under $4. I get milk there too, so I go pretty often and sometimes we don't go through all of it in time, but it works for my family.

 

[Justsyd2]

We use ours a lot. You can make almost anything in it. We keep our homemade bread in the fridge -- it lasts all week.

 

[dhuba]

I have had a bread machine since they first came on the market many, many years ago, and I could never live without one now. I never actually let the bread bake in there, and use the dough for pizza, rolls, etc. If you buy the big bags of bread flour and yeast at Costco or Sams it really saves you money. Also, I get some of the specialty bread mixes from Amazon subscribe and save program at about half the cost of the supermarket cost. They have barley bread, potato bread, a European herb and cheese bread, rye and a 9 grain bread from Hodgson Mills. Another thing I do is make up my own premeasured mixes for white bread and pizza dough, so all i have to do is add the wet ingredients when I am pressed for time. I also never just walk away when my dough is kneading in there. I always find I want to tweak the liquid a little. I am so used to it by now that I can tell by the sound of the machine acrossed the room that it needs a touch more water or a little more flour.

 

[SarahKate]

Thanks for the feedback so far!!! I am really interested in getting one, I just don't want it to end up sitting on the counter taking up valuable space (like other "cool" appliances I've bought!).

 

[Brer Shay]

I had one several years ago that I used to make the dough - as others have said, the shape is just wrong for baking. When the motor died on it, I got a KitchenAid mixer that I now use for making all my dough, plus LOTS of other things. For me that's been a great choice. I definitely like having homemade bread. We keep ours in the fridge as well and it doesn't go bad before we eat it all (usually 4 or 5 days).

 

[worm761]

I love my bread machine. I have a cheap one from walmart. It runs about $50. I got a cheap model because I didn't want to buy an expensive one just to figure out that I didn't like using it. Wasting $50 is easier to swallow than wasting $200. That is how I do all of my kitchen toys though. I will upgrade mine when it dies. I have had it for over a year now and I couldn't live without it. I make doughs in mine. The bread pan is too tall for sandwich bread. I make bread dough, dinner rolls, sandwich buns (hot dog and burger), pizza dough. Just about anything. I bake everything in the oven though. It works for me.
I was having problems getting my bread to last when someone told me that bread needs air or it molds really fast. I bought a container that allows air in and the bread lasts longer now. I suggest you play with recipes to find the ones that you like. We have a few that we rotate through for variety.

 

[FarmDisney]

I bought my husband the West Bend America's Best II bread machine for his birthday in 1997! We LOVE it! For over 10 years, I've never bought store bought bread. We have 5 kids now, so we use our bread machine almost every day.

We buy a 50 lb. sack of bread flour and make up individual mixes in old mayo jars - it took me quite awhile to get enough jars saved up, but my in-laws helped save jars too. I store the jars in the Rubbermaid half totes. My 10 year old daughter and I just did this last weekend. We figured up that the bread flour costs $.40/loaf for the 1 1/2# loaves. We do several different "flavors" - wheat, rye, italian, dough, white, oatmeal, cinnamon rolls, and I usually figure that we will get about 50 mixes out of a 50 lb sack of flour.

We also buy yeast in bulk. I just bought a pound of yeast for $3.69. I store it in the fridge and have never had a problem with it going bad.

I've replaced maybe two belts and one bread pan in the 13 years we've owned it. I love my machine so much that I got a second one on ebay for about $20 for the office.

 

[dex08]

A couple of weeks ago someone started a thread about bread machines and ever since then we've been making bread at least once a week with the bread machine we received as a gift. We have the Cuisinart CBK-200, which I never would have bought myself. I've made several kinds of bread and it turns out very good so far!!

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2386917

 

[teacup princess]

Why not check out your goodwill to see if they have one. That way you can try it out for not much investment to see if you'll actually use it. I bought one the other day for $3.00 and there were several models there to choose from.

 

[fatuhiva]

I had one, never used it much & gave it away. I found I liked the idea of it more than the reality. I've never seen one that was good to actually bake the bread in - and I intended to use mine to make the dough, then shape it myself & bake it in a regular pan. I still didn't use it. My main problem is that I find that to make bread dough you need a more hands on process to get the dough right. Maybe people who use theirs more would have better tips on using it than I do. I like using a kitchen aid mixer much better - it saves on the work of kneading, plus doesn't take up any more kitchen storage space.

 

[mybabesuz]

I have one collecting dust in the basement.
I got it for a gift and used it for a little while.
I didn't like baking the bread in it...
Then I just decided I actually liked making the dough by hand and missed doing so.
I guess if you're are short on time it might be okay.

 

[squirrel]

I have one my dad fixed. I use it to make dough and then I cook it in the oven.

My favorite recipe is

1 cup +2 TBLSP Water or Milk
1 egg
2 TBLSP Oil
2TBLSP Molasses
1 tsp Salt
1/3 cup Oats or 7-grain cereal
3 cups Whole Wheat Flour
2 tsp yeast

I add ground flax seed, seseme seeds, etc. if I have it.

 

[HunnyPots]

I had one for years and I enjoyed it. When it finally died, I started making bread dough with my Kitchenaid mixer and baking it in my oven - HUGE difference! I will never buy another bread machine because the bread comes out so much better this way and doesn't take any more effort than it did with the machine. It rises better, bakes more evenly, and I can bake it in regular sized loaf pans instead of the big square loaf I got from my machine.
Just a thought...

 

[TupperMom7]

For those that use their KitchenAid mixers to make the bread dough - do you need a special mixing beater? I have the one that came with the mixer and the whisk type.

 

[stacielee]

I have had a bread machine since they first came on the market many, many years ago, and I could never live without one now. I never actually let the bread bake in there, and use the dough for pizza, rolls, etc. If you buy the big bags of bread flour and yeast at Costco or Sams it really saves you money. Also, I get some of the specialty bread mixes from Amazon subscribe and save program at about half the cost of the supermarket cost. They have barley bread, potato bread, a European herb and cheese bread, rye and a 9 grain bread from Hodgson Mills. Another thing I do is make up my own premeasured mixes for white bread and pizza dough, so all i have to do is add the wet ingredients when I am pressed for time. I also never just walk away when my dough is kneading in there. I always find I want to tweak the liquid a little. I am so used to it by now that I can tell by the sound of the machine acrossed the room that it needs a touch more water or a little more flour.

I had one, never used it much & gave it away. I found I liked the idea of it more than the reality. I've never seen one that was good to actually bake the bread in - and I intended to use mine to make the dough, then shape it myself & bake it in a regular pan. I still didn't use it. My main problem is that I find that to make bread dough you need a more hands on process to get the dough right. Maybe people who use theirs more would have better tips on using it than I do. I like using a kitchen aid mixer much better - it saves on the work of kneading, plus doesn't take up any more kitchen storage space.

Great idea on the Subscribe & Save, I had never heard of that. I just went on and ordered some of the bread mixes, only $9.60 to make 6 loaves, and free shipping!!

I had one for quite a while many years ago, then got rid of it. About 3 years ago, I found one at a garage sale and it's sitting on my counter so I need to start using it again or get rid of it. The one thing I don't like is the round loaves so I think I'll use it to make the dough then bake it in the oven in a regular loaf pan.

 

[dhuba]

For those that use their KitchenAid mixers to make the bread dough - do you need a special mixing beater? I have the one that came with the mixer and the whisk type.

Yes, there is a kneading hook that you use to knead the bread.

 

[HunnyPots]

For those that use their KitchenAid mixers to make the bread dough - do you need a special mixing beater? I have the one that came with the mixer and the whisk type.

You need to use the dough hook. What model do you have? I thought they all came with the hook.

 

[mamaLori05]

I went out and bought one a few years back because I JUST HAD TO HAVE ONE. Well, I used it once, and then it collected dust in my pantry. I was decluttering last year and finally donated it to Good Will.

 

[semo233]

My parents lived with us for about 6 weeks last year and left a few things in my basement...one was a bread machine! After I went to the store on Friday and saw that a cinnamon raisin bread was $4, I decided to open it up. I used the machine to make a dough with all purpose flour (the only thing I had on hand and one of the few recipes that called for it) and the one envelope of yeast I had left. Then you roll out the dough, add the sugar, cinnamon and butter and roll it up and bake in a loaf pan. Pretty good!
I will be experimenting with the bread flour. I don't have a Kitchen Aid mixer and don't see me getting one soon, so this free appliance will be it for a while.
If you are nervous about buying a bread machine, you could always send out an e-mail to see if anyone has one that you can borrow for a few days to experiment with...you never know, someone may just give you one they have sitting in their basement!