BREAD MACHINE? (1,201 views)

I have a very old bread machine, a simple cheap one. it worked fine  when I made bread but I used it to mix and knead  and  pulled the dough out to finish it  myself in a real oven.  I have used it  sometimes to make pizza dough.    for no particular reason,  DH and I don't eat  much bread.   we aren't avoiding gluten, low carbing etc, but don't make sandwiches much.   I LOVE bread but the quality of  "purchasable" bread is so much better and more varied than it used to be... so I  doubt I will make bread again.   bread I buy.... immediately freeze and take out a slice  when I need it.   for me it's a time that passed. I will keep the machine    for pizza dough   but in the basement not hogging counter space. 

Interesting. Thanks for your thoughts.

I have a friend (Kathleen, where ARE you?) who did join our group here, but typical of her, she is very quiet. I have not heard from her AT ALL in a year or more. I hope she is ok in Tenn.

Kathleen has grown kids, but she loves to bake. She has freezers full of anything and everything yummy. She does use her bread machine, but mostly just for the mixing/kneading.

Not bread machine, but remember when the no-knead bread books came out? She baked through each. Many of the recipes became favorites of hers. Last I heard from her, she was baking from King Arthur's recipes. WISH SHE WOULD CONTACT US!!

Traildoggie: we do same with store-bought (usually Dave's Killer Bread...many grains). My husband tosses it in the freezer then takes out what he needs each day. I DON'T GET IT. I mean, shouldn't it be WRAPPED? But it seems no wrap doesn't bother it. ?? Do you wrap yours or just leave it in bag it came in when freezing it?

I still have the ancient (? Hitachi? can't remember the brand) that I got back in the early 90s and it still works fine.   While I love the idea (and the smell) of using the timer to have a hot loaf when we get up in the morning, as others have mentioned, the quality of the bread isn't up to that of all the various artisanal loaves you can get now at your local grocery store.  (I wonder, though, if a newer model would have more adjustability/versatility).  I will occasionally bake off a loaf in the machine specifically to cut up and zizz into fresh bread crumbs.  Mostly though I use it to mix/knead and then I hand shape and bake the dough.  I probably do challah the most, it just makes it so much more manageable and really turns it into a simple project rather than a daunting all day task (for me, anyway).  I've also done breadsticks, dozens of different rolls (including Moomie's buns).  I don't use it every week, but I would miss it if it died.

There are two books I've used a lot, both something like "dough from the bread machine."   One is by Beth Hensperger (sp?) and I'm not seeing the other in a quick spin through Amazon, so it may be out of print, it was one of those low narrow books that you sometimes used to see at the checkout counter at the grocery store.  

I chose the Model JOLLY RIFINITO, a small built-in oven for professional use. The range is fully insulated, steel coated has a metal shelf and a small decorative copper chimney umbrella. The stove is ready to use. It does not need to be built into a wall opening. I ordered it through thegrafyt.com/ rather than a direct dealer. Since they are more convenient to work with. I originally got it for a new bakery store. But then I bought one for my home, too. It's convenient and compact. So now I bake bread as a hobby.

I use my bread machine only for making pizza dough and for making Moomies Buns. I used to use it for bread making but no longer. My machine is over 20 years old and still works great!

one benefit to using a bread machine to knead is the  nonstick bucket makes it possible to go easy on the flour. I tend to over add flour when I hand knead. just a thought.   I use t to knead dough for focaccia and cinnamon rolls  where too much flour  is a  problem.