Poll: What brand bread machine do you have?

[lisas3575]

I own an Oster that was a gift-- the control pad died a few months after I received it and I was able to exchange it for a like model, but have never been too happy with the bread I get out of it. It often times is dense (having never risen to the occasion as it were), and will be too done on the outside and not done enough on the inside.

I'm giving it another go however, I'm making some whole wheat bread (which I've never tried) to see if it turns out better. I'm also going to try just preparing the dough in it and baking it in the regular oven.

What brand do you have that you like? Do you bake it in the machine or in the oven?

[BosunsWife]

I have an Oster and received it as a gift for christmas. It has taken a lot of experimentation, but I have found some recipes that I like. I DO NOT like any of the recipes in the Oster book that came with it. I made the WW bread from the Oster book and it was like a rock!

I bought a Lora Brody cookbook for breadmachines and it has a lot of good recipes in it. I posted a whole wheat recipe (a while back) from it that I just love and make twice a week for our daily consumption.

One thing I have learned with it is that you must take the bread out as soon as the buzzer sounds that it is done. It continues to cook inside the pan because there is still heat in the unit. Probably all bread machines are like that though. Another thing I learned (the hard way) was that you need to set the type of bread first and THEN put in the crust color (light, medium or dark) that you want. If you put in the crust color first, when you put in the bread type (whole wheat, white, etc.) it will reset your crust color to medium. Had many whole wheat loaves with a really dark crust before I figured that one out.

I've also experimented with yeast amounts and adding gluten to get a better rise out of whole wheat breads.

My opinion on the Oster is a good one, but it took a while to get all the bugs worked out of it. I use it at least twice a week and sometimes more. I have a two year old at home and love homemade bread for her and it wouldn't be possible without the bread machine. My kitchen will never be without one.

[lisas3575]

I'm so glad to hear that it may be the recipes and not the machine. I've only made recipes out of the Oster book that came with it and a few box mixes. :o

I'll go search for your earlier posted recipe; now I'm not having high expectations about the loaf in the machine currently. Crap.

[lisas3575]

Found it for anyone else interested (thank you bosunswife!)

1 1/3 c. water
1/3 c. honey
2 T. veg. oil
1 1/2 tsp. salt
3 T. powdered milk
3 c. Whole Wheat flour
1/2 c. bread flour
1/3 c. cornmeal
3 T. Lora Brody Bread Enhancer or 2 T. gluten
2 t. yeast

Put ingredients in your breadmaker according to your directions. Use WW cycle.

[breadmama]

I have a Panasonic 1 pound bread machine. It's almost 8 years old, and it has held up pretty well to frequent use. I think I might buy a Zojirushi when and if this one breaks, because the King Arthur Bread folks speak so highly of that brand.

My machine doesn't have a cool-down cycle, so I also have to get the bread out right after it finishes, or else the crust gets really thick and tough.

I seem to use the dough cycle more and more now, because of pizzas, rolls, etc., and also because baking the loaves in the oven results in crust that my family likes better.

When I want to use the timer, the basic white bread recipe in the manual works well each time, and I substitute 1 cup of whole wheat flour and 1 T gluten for a cup of the white flour.

I recommend Bread Machine Magic as a good source for a variety of recipes. I have a bunch of cookbooks that I also like, but this one was my first one, and I still refer to it for some tried and true breads.

I LOVE making bread!! :) (hence my nickname...)

[Javajane]

I just got my first bread machine a couple of days ago. King Arthur Flour is now promoting the Breadman Ultimate. It has all the bells and whistles and many ways to program it to your taste. I found it online for a variety of prices. The highest was $249.00, the manufacturer was selling it directly for $129.00 (I think) and King Arthur Flour has the same model for $99.00. You can guess where I bought it. I also bought a paperback version of the book, "The Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook" by Beth Hensperger from Jessica's Biscuit (www.ecookbooks.com) for $11.97.

I've made bread by hand in the past, but I'm not an expert bread maker. Beth Hensperger's book has a ton of info about baking bread in the machine. She also has a lot of recipes. She has three starter recipes to get you used to making bread in the machine. I've tried the first two this weekend. The country white bread came out light and high. Although it tasted fine, it kind of squished down when I cut it with a serrated knife. It had a different texture from my homemade bread. The second bread was the "Shepherd's Bread". You make a sponge in the machine and let it percolate away for about 4 hours and then you add the rest of the ingredients and turn the machine on. I didn't follow directions and I peeked at the dough during the 3rd rise. When the bread was finished, the color was too light for me. I had had the machine set to medium crust. I don't know if it was because I checked during the third rise or because I just need to set it to dark in the future. The bread also came out high and tastier than the first bread.

The machine works perfectly and it comes with an instruction manual and a video. I'm going to keep working through my books and try more recipes. Ultimately, I'll probably use the dough or pizza cycle more than the full bake cycle because I'm still not sure that a bread machine will give me the kind of crust I like.

If any of you have any particular recipes that you like, please post them here.
Thanks.

[crc77]

I have a Breadman that I got at a garage sale. I have been wanting a bread machine but wasn't ready to pay the price. I found my machine for a great price and it was never used! It was in the original box, unopened etc. I even sent in the warranty card. I've made the quick rise bread several times and it was good although a bit heavy. I finally made the regular white bread- I had no idea how long it would take until I talked to my mom and asked about her machine and timing. No where in the directions does it tell you how long the process is. I was going nuts because I didn't want to leave the house with a new machine going. Anyway the regular bread did not come out- it reminded me of English Muffin type bread rather than white bread. I haven't tried anything else. I noticed that cl had some bread machine recepies earlier and the asiago cheese sounded good. So far I like my machine but I'm glad I didn't pay much for it.
Cheryl

[funnybone]

I've had an Oster for almost 4 years and have been very happy with it. I've done white, wheat, sweet and dough in it. I don't make too many recipes that came with the machine, but tend to use the following web sites for recipes:

www.robinhood.ca
www.betterbaking.com
www.breadworld.com
www.kingarthurflour.com

I always use King Arthur Bread Flour, and I use bread machine yeast. Also, sometimes I will need more flour or liquid, depending on the humidity and day. So you have to watch it closely while it first starts mixing.

[Zinnia]

I have 2:)
The first one I recieved as a present. It's a Westbend Automatic Bread & Dough Maker, and I love it. It has bread select buttons for two types of bread, a dough setting, a bread color/crust color selection, timer button for delay start, & a 'too hot warning'. I use it at least once a week.
Other than NOT using fresh, or the 'right' yeast, it has been a trooper. Just make sure your yeast is fresh-that stuff is amazing;). White bread in a bread machine is SO much better than the quality of the shapes I've bought off the shelf.
I acquired a 5yo Toastmaster-Bread & Butter Maker from a friend recently, and have used it 2x. It has 6 bread settings, a delay start timer for up to 12 hrs., makes dough, and fresh butter, etc. I have it stored right now because there's no room on my kitchen counter for it:o
:) Zinnia

[Bakerwoman]

I have a Maxim 1 pd. machine purchased at a garage sale for $5.00. I use only King Arthur Flour, and the dough cycle, to achieve the kind of crust and shape that I want.

I use my machine three or four times a week. I've spent a good amount of time trying different things this summer. I'm getting better results with pizza crust now that I bake it for 5 minutes on the stone prior to adding the toppings. Focaccias also come out nicely, I bake them at 400 to 425 degrees, and use the spritzer (stay away from the element), when my husband isn't looking!

I also think Laura Brody's books are a good resource, as is the King Arthur and breadworld, and Fleischmann's websites.

My machine doesn't have all the fancy bells and whistles, but it works great and is the right size for a family of four. My choice for a new machine would be the breadman ultimate....lucky is the person who found this at a garage sale!

[BethML]

We received a Williams-Sonoma brand bread machine as a wedding gift last year and I've been very happy with it. It kneads like a champion. I use various sources for bread recipes rather than the machine's companion recipe guide.

One question, though, for those who own other brands: Is your bread machine really loud, like ours? We currently live in a small apartment and I can't set the machine to have bread ready for us first thing in the morning because it would wake us up at 4 AM during the loud kneading process.

Also wanted to recommend another bread baking resource on the Internet, which is at www.bread-bakers.com. If you go to http://www.bread-bakers.com/mailing_list.html you can sign up for their weekly e-mail digest which consists of questions and answers related to bread, posted by the members of the mailing list (sort of like this BB). I've learned a ton from it. They also have previous digests archived on the website.

[KellyD]

I'm one of those who uses my bread machine strictly for the dough cycle. I'm not wild about the shape of the loaves that mine produces, so I've become quite the "bread baker" according to friends and neighbors, but little do they know I just shape those loaves and put them in the oven! But the point of my post is I stumbled upon an incredible book on the clearance rack at Barnes & Noble called the The Cook's Encyclopedia of Bread Machine Baking. It was $4.98 (although regularly only about $8) and it is definitely the best bread machine book I've used - and I own at least 5. It is their own publication - so you can't get it on Amazon, but it is on the B&N site. Just another option for those of you who haven't been pleased with your bread machine - I've made some incredible breads using the recipes in this book and baking them myself.

[Curleytop]

Had a Hitachi for many years, and when it died, I too got the Oster. I primarily use it as a dough maker. I did make the 58 minute bread a few times! Not bad for that type of bread. We don't usually it white bread, except the sour dough which I make all the time (dough maker only).
I think you have to experiment for a while and see if you need to use a different type yeast. I buy the Fleischmann's Active Dry
and also the Fleischmann's Fast (don't know the exact name)
Also, vital gluten is necessary in many breads, you get that in the health food type stores. Good Luck!