Should I buy a breadmaker?

[AttachedMamma]

I really want to have homemade bread in our house. It's too expensive to buy good quality bread in the stores/bakery. If I could get into a routine of hand-making bread, perhaps I wouldn't need a machine at all. But, unfortunately, I haven't been able to discipline myself to do this regularly. I'd love to make a variety of organic whole-grain breads. I've been avoiding a machine b/c: I don't want another appliance in our kitchen, I don't want to be restricted by a machine, I worry that it won't taste home-made, etc.

What are your thoughts? What are the pros and cons? Any recommendations of good bread-making machines? Any lemons out there to avoid?

Thank you for any wisdom you can share.

cindi

[Soliloquy]

Originally Posted by AttachedMamma

I really want to have homemade bread in our house. It's too expensive to buy good quality bread in the stores/bakery.

I'm going through the same thing right now . . . we Great Harvest bread, but it's $5 a loaf! . I used a bread machine years ago, and while the bread was better than your average store loaf, it didn't have that fabulous texture of the expensive breads that I like. The machine doesn't stretch the dough as well in the kneading process, IMO.

Two weeks ago I bought all the ingredients to make my own bread--organic flour, honey, yeast, etc. and made 3 loaves. They turned out OK, considering it was my first try in about 10 years. The hands-on time wasn't that bad, but we had to stay around the house so I could keep an eye on the rising process. I haven't done it again since. I'm sure if I get into a routine, it will get easier. But, today, I shelled out another $5 for my favorite bread at the store. We're really trying to save money so I'm going to try it again. I want to be able to do it on a weekday, but I'm

Sorry I can't give you more info on the machines, but you could go to amazon and read reviews there. Libraries usually have Consumer Reports, too. If you buy a machine that works well, please post because I may end up going that route . . .

[cobluegirl]

I like my bread machine..but don't use it too often..but what I really like to do when I am making bread is knead it in the maker and then place in a stoneware pan to bake in the oven...much nicer loaf...but I have an old maker too.

[Radosny Matka]

I LOVE my breadmaker!

I used to love my breadmaker, too, but got a Kitchen Aid mixer about 5 years ago and find it far, far better. The bread I make in my KA turns out a lot better because I have more control. I find breadmaking more enjoyable -- like an art -- this way. I can easily add more flour if needed and can pay close attention to the mixing and kneading. In addition, I can make up to 3 loaves at a time (I usually make 2), which is great for someone who is not too disciplined about making bread. It means that I can keep one out to use and put two in the freezer. Our family also really likes cinnamon buns, so I can easily make a double batch of bread dough and keep half out for cinnamon buns and the other half for a loaf of bread. The other thing I like about making bread in a mixer is that I can shape it and put it into bread pans, as opposed to the weird tall rectangle that most breadmakers make. On Friday nights, we go to my parents' place for pizza night and my mom, who got her KA shortly after me, uses it every week to make pizza dough for 10+ people.

The great thing about the Kitchen Aid mixer is that it replaces whatever mixer you already have, so it isn't another appliance. It is amazingly heavy duty (my model is the 'Professional' 5 qt, but it is just a name -- not really professional -- got it at Costco). You should see this thing whip egg whites or whipping cream!!

Anyway, obviously my vote is for a heavy-duty mixer which is much more versatile than a breadmaker. However, a KA mixer is definitely much more expensive and I think anything that helps people make their own bread is a great investment, so if $$ is a real problem I think breadmaker would be great, too. I have also heard excellent things about the BOSCH mixer from people with large families.

[cobluegirl]

I like my kitchen aide too but right now it is broken....I stripped the motor.....want the new 675watt one...lol my 300 is toast.

[UltraMother]

Ime, the plainer breads turn out better than the exotic ones. But it's very easy to get in the habit of mixing up a loaf everyday at the same time (like during breakfast or whatever). And if you get a programmable one, you can mix it the night before, and have fresh bread in the morning. A few years ago, I bought a small, cheap one, figuring that I wasn't out much money if it never really got used. It broke in one year, but I made bread weekly at the least, so I upgraded to a nice "Bread Machine" and it's still in great shape.

But the best reason to make your own bread is the smell! I'm surprised no one makes "bread" scent air fresheners.

I use to have that fantasy of making bread because I could not afford to let the kids eat sandwiches all the time because of the brand at Whole Foods was 4.00 a loaf. Well our local farmers market makes it fresh daily and it is 1.99 a loaf and they make such exotic mixes I just bought some sunflower and lentil bread and it is Hey that is me right now love the new icon. So I think I will stick with that but I tell you homemade fresh bread is so divine

[Tengokujin]

I LOVE my breadmaker, and I am usually very skeptical about lots of appliances. Just a regular sandwich bread is hard to find in my neck of the woods, so my breadmaker saves me from unrelenting rice.

I like it because it removes the annoying part of bread making--the destroyed kitchen--because the mixing and rising is done within the machine. You can opt to bake any dough in your own oven, and thus have the fun of shaping, etc. A mixer will mix, but will not control temperature for the rising, as I understand it. And let's not forget the delay feature--dumping ingredients in at bedtime, setting the delay, and waking up to yummy bread.

There are also excellent cookbooks now for breadmachines that are organic or gourmet in nature. I like the bread machine magic books, and recently I came across "|The Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook" which has 300 recipes!! Really authentic breads from all over the world.

I bake regular loaves in the machine, coffeecakes and other more shaped loaves in the oven, and I now make my own pizza dough as well. You can use a machine to make jam and pasta dough as well. I feel like my breadmachine helps me cook better food for my family that keeps me motivated and keeps them thinking that I am a domesticated goddess!

So I am TOTALLY for breadmachines. I have a Japanese model, so it won't help to know that it is a Sanyo, but there are US brands just like it.

Of course, only you can make yourself put the ingredients in and press start....otherwise it is just another paperweight in your kitchen.

[TestifyToLove]

Before kids, I was a big bread maker, all by hand and from scratch. After kids, I think I've made bread that way ONCE, and it was too much work to ever consider again.

I resisted getting a breadmaker for years because I felt it wasn't 'real' bread. Yeah well, forget that nonsense. DH bought me a very high end machine for Christmas (I can add extra ingredients, program my own breads, etc). I LOVE my breadmaker. Yes, I admit that having a normal shaped loaf was a factor for me. My machine has a normal bread shaped pan, no funny loafs for me! There is a dent in the bottom from the paddle but nothing else.

And, now we are eating fresh, made from scratch bread pretty consistently. Okay, its not something I kneaded myself anymore. But, good grief, it takes exactly the same as if I had and I can still clean the house and school the children this way!

Originally Posted by TestifyToLove

And, now we are eating fresh, made from scratch bread pretty consistently. Okay, its not something I kneaded myself anymore. But, good grief, it takes exactly the same as if I had and I can still clean the house and school the children this way!

AND...if you bought any bread during the time you weren't making it...well, the bakery or grocery store wasn't hand kneading it, either!!

[DogwoodMama]

Testify, what brand is yours?

I used to have one, but then I ate waaaaayyyy too much bread b/c it was so good. So I stopped & just bought bread so I wouldn't eat so much of it. :P