Bread machine recommendations?

Bill

Bill

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Coming on the heels of the "Bread loaf ends" thread, I'd like some recommendations on a good bread machine. I prefer 100% wheat and 50/50 white/wheat loaves. Recommend away!
 
I truly do love my Cuisinart. It beeps at me before it starts baking so I can get the paddle out and not have a big slash in my nice loaf of bread.
 
I have a Breadman made by Trillium... Had it for years. Still works perfectly... I prefer White bread cooked with a medium crust... I also use the machine at least 2 times a week making pizza dough for either a pizza or a Calzone......


MMMMMMM... Yummy...
 
I bought a Hitachi HB-B101 way back in the late 80s. Baked a loaf almost every week, plus regularly made pizza dough and other stuff and it lasted for over 15 years before finally dying. I bought THE top of the line breadman to replace it and it lasted for less than 6 months.

So I bought a used Hitachi HB-B102 off of eBay in '07. It was in great shape and it's still working flawlessly. I have another on in my garage for if/when this one bites the dust.

They're buit like a brick sh**house as compared to all of today's crap.

Guess what I'd recommend that you do?

Here's my favorite bread recipe as shared in an earlier thread...lots of various grains:

http://www.pilotsofamerica.com/foru...&highlight=Put+hair+on+your+chest#post1469644
 
timwinters said:
I bought a Hitachi HB-B101 way back in the late 80s. Baked a loaf almost every week, plus regularly made pizza dough and other stuff and it lasted for over 15 years before finally dying.
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That's the one I had! It went 23yrs before dying. Cheap piece of crap! :rofl:

I don't doubt that the newer ones are not built as well. Maybe I need to peruse craigslist to find another.
 
I'm interested, too.

We have one that's almost 15 yrs old, a Breadman. It makes a horizontal loaf. The thing that I found out I don't really like about it - it's makes a 2 lb loaf. If that's what you want, it's OK. But if you ever try to make something less than full-size, I've had problems with it not mixing/baking properly. I don't know if that's a problem other machines have, or if it's just that one.

We used it a pretty heavily for a long time, but not recently. I think now we use it more for making pizza dough than we do for bread.
 
We're on our 3rd Panasonic : http://shop.panasonic.com/home-and-office/kitchen-appliances/bread-makers/SD-YD250.html

The first one was a hand me down from a friend. We made all our bread for a family of 6 with it and wore the bearings out. We replaced it with anew one of our own and continued to make 3-4 loaves a week until kids grew up and started moving out. It eventually quit and my wife found another one at the thrift store for $10. We use it to make maybe a loaf every other week. It's got a variety of modes, handles seed bread and whole grains and also has dough modes which we use for sweet rolls and occasionally cuban bread to get a different shaped loaf. The loaf shape is tall but other than that it's been areal workhorse and we have never been disappointed.

John
 
jsstevens said:
We're on our 3rd Panasonic : http://shop.panasonic.com/home-and-office/kitchen-appliances/bread-makers/SD-YD250.html

The first one was a hand me down from a friend. We made all our bread for a family of 6 with it and wore the bearings out. We replaced it with anew one of our own and continued to make 3-4 loaves a week until kids grew up and started moving out. It eventually quit and my wife found another one at the thrift store for $10. We use it to make maybe a loaf every other week. It's got a variety of modes, handles seed bread and whole grains and also has dough modes which we use for sweet rolls and occasionally cuban bread to get a different shaped loaf. The loaf shape is tall but other than that it's been areal workhorse and we have never been disappointed.

John
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Please pass on the recipe for the sweet rolls....:yes:
 
N801BH said:
Please pass on the recipe for the sweet rolls....:yes:
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I'll look when I get home. As I recall, it's actually an adaptation of one in the book that came with the bread maker.

John
 
35 year old Kitchenaid K5A mixer that's still going strong. It does everything but throw the loaves in the oven.
 
Bill Jennings said:
Coming on the heels of the "Bread loaf ends" thread, I'd like some recommendations on a good bread machine. I prefer 100% wheat and 50/50 white/wheat loaves. Recommend away!
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None! They all SUCK!!! Seriously, I have seen and experienced most every one available in use by some extremely qualified chefs, and never once have I had good bread out of one, the texture is never right. Every yacht has three of these machines in the bilge, the never get used, just bake bread the normal way, on a stone in an oven.
 
Henning said:
None! They all SUCK!!! Seriously, I have seen and experienced most every one available in use by some extremely qualified chefs, and never once have I had good bread out of one, the texture is never right. Every yacht has three of these machines in the bilge, the never get used, just bake bread the normal way, on a stone in an oven.
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As always, whatever.
 
Baking to me is a wicked combination of science and art. I make my own pizza dough. I use a starter from Italy that I culture in a jar on my counter. I import flour with just the right grind, Caputo 00. I really work to get just the right amount of water as it changes with the environment. I also struggle to get just the right mix. I've been through all the Kitchenaid's, etc. and finally decided on the Ankarsrum from Sweden. Then we could talk about the other little things like refrigerator slow rise, proofing, high temp charcoal baking, etc.

I just don't know how you can do all that by just throwing some stuff in a machine?
 
Alexb2000 said:
Baking to me is a wicked combination of science and art. I make my own pizza dough. I use a starter from Italy that I culture in a jar on my counter. I import flour with just the right grind, Caputo 00. I really work to get just the right amount of water as it changes with the environment. I also struggle to get just the right mix. I've been through all the Kitchenaid's, etc. and finally decided on the Ankarsrum from Sweden. Then we could talk about the other little things like refrigerator slow rise, proofing, high temp charcoal baking, etc.

I just don't know how you can do all that by just throwing some stuff in a machine?
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I can get my dough right about 95% of the time..... My two biggest hurdles are tossing it properly to get a round , thin pizza...

I have a nice stone I cook on but I cannot find a large spatula as I want to heat the stone up to 450 so the bottom gets crusty,, As it is now I build the pizza on the cold stone and load it into the heated oven...

Still good eatin...
 
N801BH said:
I can get my dough right about 95% of the time..... My two biggest hurdles are tossing it properly to get a round , thin pizza...

I have a nice stone I cook on but I cannot find a large spatula as I want to heat the stone up to 450 so the bottom gets crusty,, As it is now I build the pizza on the cold stone and load it into the heated oven...

Still good eatin...
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http://www.campchef.com/italia-pizza-peel.html

surprised you haven't built a 450 hp version...
 
N801BH said:
I can get my dough right about 95% of the time..... My two biggest hurdles are tossing it properly to get a round , thin pizza...

I have a nice stone I cook on but I cannot find a large spatula as I want to heat the stone up to 450 so the bottom gets crusty,, As it is now I build the pizza on the cold stone and load it into the heated oven...

Still good eatin...
Click to expand...

Come down south and we'll bake some pizzas at 7-900 degrees on charcoal. I promise you'll never go back. The issue is that the holes in the crust are not made by directly by the yeast, but by the water in those holes rapidly transitioning to steam. That's the number one reason it you can't really produce a good pizza at lower temperatures. If you have an electric oven you can hack it (cut the safety) so that it will run really hot on the self cleaning cycle and still let you open the door.

Of course you have to adjust your recipe for hotter oven temps.
 
Alexb2000 said:
Come down south and we'll bake some pizzas at 7-900 degrees on charcoal. I promise you'll never go back. The issue is that the holes in the crust are not made by directly by the yeast, but by the water in those holes rapidly transitioning to steam. That's the number one reason it you can't really produce a good pizza at lower temperatures. If you have an electric oven you can hack it (cut the safety) so that it will run really hot on the self cleaning cycle and still let you open the door.

Of course you have to adjust your recipe for hotter oven temps.
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With this I have to agree, though the high cooking temperature is truly the elephant in the room. It will do more to alter the texture of your pizza dough than mixing or even flour grind.

I'd love to use a "real" sourdough starter, but haven't a proofing box or room for one. I have to settle for milk-based starter that isn't nearly as good.
 
Alexb2000 said:
Baking to me is a wicked combination of science and art. I make my own pizza dough. I use a starter from Italy that I culture in a jar on my counter. I import flour with just the right grind, Caputo 00. I really work to get just the right amount of water as it changes with the environment. I also struggle to get just the right mix. I've been through all the Kitchenaid's, etc. and finally decided on the Ankarsrum from Sweden. Then we could talk about the other little things like refrigerator slow rise, proofing, high temp charcoal baking, etc.

I just don't know how you can do all that by just throwing some stuff in a machine?
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Have you rigged your oven to cook using the self clean function, or do you work something out with your charcoal grill? Or do you actually have a coal pizza oven? If the latter, I'm jealous!
 
steingar said:
With this I have to agree, though the high cooking temperature is truly the elephant in the room. It will do more to alter the texture of your pizza dough than mixing or even flour grind.

I'd love to use a "real" sourdough starter, but haven't a proofing box or room for one. I have to settle for milk-based starter that isn't nearly as good.
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I keep mine in a mason jar with a loose lid on the counter. No proofing box or anything else required. I feed it flour, drain off the acid, and add appropriate water when I use it. Other than that it is dead simple. Try it.

asechrest said:
Have you rigged your oven to cook using the self clean function, or do you work something out with your charcoal grill? Or do you actually have a coal pizza oven? If the latter, I'm jealous!
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I have gas ovens, but it is common to hack an electric for those guys that don't have other options and seems to work good.

I use a BGE with a stone. I built my own pizza oven, which works great for parties, but I mostly use the BGE.
 
Alexb2000 said:
Come down south and we'll bake some pizzas at 7-900 degrees on charcoal. I promise you'll never go back.
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I recently bought a Big Green Egg for the coming BBQ season, one of the things I want to try is charcoal baked pizza. Oh, and pork butts, and oh, steaks, and oh, chicken, and oh.......
 
Alexb2000 said:
I keep mine in a mason jar with a loose lid on the counter. No proofing box or anything else required. I feed it flour, drain off the acid, and add appropriate water when I use it. Other than that it is dead simple. Try it.
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Optimal temps for most yeast are around 90 degrees F. Optimal temps for most lactobacilli are well north of that. My kitchen hits those temps perhaps two days a year, and is a good 30 degrees south much of the time. I have strong doubts I'm going to get any degree of fermentation minus a proofing box.
 
Does anyone have a recipe for egg bread that they know works? I have tried several but could never quite match one a frenchman made us in college.

More Gluten! Gluten is good!
 
My recommendation for a bread machine brand - Your God Given Hands. Seriously, the bread machine will not make a loaf of bread that is better than what you can make without it. Visit a restaurant supply store to get some larger loaf pans, that's the only thing you need that your probably don't already have. Don't be afraid of it, its just flour, yeast, salt and water. It's not going to bite you.

That said, we used to have a Breadman. We made bread with it every week for 3 years and it was still going, we just quit doing it. I figure it was $2/loaf for the machinery that basically does what your hands do. Back then bread was 99 cents in the store.

The difference between wisdom and intelligence.
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
Does anyone have a recipe for egg bread that they know works? I have tried several but could never quite match one a frenchman made us in college.

More Gluten! Gluten is good!
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Pillsbury cookbook has a good one. "County Fair Egg Bread".
 
steingar said:
Optimal temps for most yeast are around 90 degrees F. Optimal temps for most lactobacilli are well north of that. My kitchen hits those temps perhaps two days a year, and is a good 30 degrees south much of the time. I have strong doubts I'm going to get any degree of fermentation minus a proofing box.
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Agreed. I don't want temps that high either. My house is 65-70 all year round. I am not trying to create optimal temps until I am ready to use it. Those temps keep it in a semi-dormant state pretty well. The main thing is that they don't starve and when you feed reduce the acid level by pouring off the separated liquid. Then you can proof in a 100 degree oven and reactivate them.

I've done this for years, it works, its easy, I'll send you some starter if you want to try it.

Here are some pictures:

1. Sitting on the counter after a week or two.
2. Pouring off the acid
3. Feeding flour and adding water until it has a pancake batter consistency
4. Yeast activating 30 seconds after feeding still at room temp
 

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Do you have a good sourdough starter? I used to keep one a guy gave me for years, but some chick took it. :(
 
Slight thread hijack here...

Is it true that some bread makers use yeast that is hundreds of years old? Or is this an urban legend?
 
I'm really glad I started this :D

Is there anything wrong with just making bread in the oven in a bread pan? I might do that to save some money if it's just simple ingredients.
 
janikpilot said:
I'm really glad I started this :D

Is there anything wrong with just making bread in the oven in a bread pan? I might do that to save some money if it's just simple ingredients.
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Ingredients are simple - don't even need a bread pan, make a French loaf...
 
RalphInCA said:
Slight thread hijack here...

Is it true that some bread makers use yeast that is hundreds of years old? Or is this an urban legend?
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Yeast strains hundreds of years old yes, the spores themselves no.;) Most of the old name bakeries (some in Europe hundreds of years old, even village bakeries for that matter) have their own signature culture, and they have been keeping it going through the years.
 
We have an older zojirushi. I would look at look at their current offerings, I think they are the pick of the litter.
 
The main reason for a machine is it takes about 3 minutes to measure and dump the ingredients in, and then you come back in 4-6 hours and have a fresh loaf of bread. Is it better than you could make by hand? Not generally, though it will be more consistent until you get the hang of bread making. Will it be cheaper than store bought bread? It depends. For plain white bread, probably not. For seed breads and real, whole grain breads, yes-if you make enough bread. (Kind of like owning an airplane, if you fly enough, it's cheaper than renting.)

They are bloomin' convenient! When we had 4 children at home and were going through a loaf a day, it was AWESOME. And the bread is good. Maybe not a good as a great artisan can make it, but good.

John
 
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